ProQuest Export

Oil Price To Leave Mark at Berkshire

Author: Das, Anupreeta

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]26 Feb 2016: C.1.

Abstract:

Mr. Buffett had long argued that Berkshire's book value -- a measure of assets minus liabilities -- was a better gauge of his company's performance than any other yardstick. The conglomerate disclosed last week it recently bought roughly $400 million worth of shares in Kinder Morgan Inc., taking advantage of the steep slide in the energy infrastructure giant's stock price.

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Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual results Saturday will give investors a closer look at how Warren Buffett is coping with what could be the market's biggest problem: oil.

Cheaper oil is a bright spot for many of Berkshire's manufacturing and industrial businesses. But it is a growing problem for key holdings including BNSF Railway Co., which makes a lot of money hauling oil and other commodities and accounted for about a fifth of Berkshire's profit in 2014.

A less obvious casualty has been auto insurer Geico, another high-profile Berkshire business. Cheap gasoline and improved employment prospects are putting more drivers on the road, leading to more traffic accidents. For Geico and its rivals, that has meant paying out more claims.

Those factors, along with poor performance by investments in companies like American Express Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and International Business Machines Corp., weighed on Berkshire's shares. They fell 12% last year, while the S&P 500 index was down less than 1%.

"Berkshire had a bit of a rough year in 2015," said Nomura analyst Clifford Gallant. "We learned that the company has more exposure to oil than we previously understood, from the revenue impacts on BNSF and some of the manufacturing businesses to loss trends at Geico."

The price of oil is one of several topics investors expect Mr. Buffett to address in his latest letter to shareholders, a yearly tradition that accompanies release of the conglomerate's year-end results. Also anticipated: a discussion of Berkshire's acquisition strategy, including its partnership with 3G Capital Partners LP, and an update on Berkshire's April 30 annual meeting, which will be streamed online for the first time.

Analysts expect Berkshire to report growth in book value that outperformed the S&P 500, which was essentially flat when dividends are factored in. Mr. Buffett had long argued that Berkshire's book value -- a measure of assets minus liabilities -- was a better gauge of his company's performance than any other yardstick. The billionaire investor used to set himself the goal of beating the S&P on a five-year rolling basis, although he has acknowledged it has gotten harder as Berkshire has gotten bigger.

Last year, Mr. Buffett said for the first time that Berkshire's long-term stock price had become a better indicator of the company's performance than book value. A long-term investor, Mr. Buffett isn't likely to make much of last year's drop.

In January, Berkshire closed its $32 billion acquisition of Precision Castparts Corp. Mr. Buffett swooped in to buy the Portland, Ore., company in August as investors dumped the stock because of Precision's exposure to the oil and gas industry. The company makes aircraft equipment, but had targeted the oil and gas sector as a growth market, only to be hurt when customers cut back operations. Precision's uncertain near-term outlook gave Mr. Buffett the opportunity to offer a lower premium than some analysts had forecast at the time.

The company's stock pickers aren't shying away from oil companies, either. The conglomerate disclosed last week it recently bought roughly $400 million worth of shares in Kinder Morgan Inc., taking advantage of the steep slide in the energy infrastructure giant's stock price. Berkshire also has steadily acquired shares of oil refiner Phillips 66 and owns 14% of the company.

"They appear to be making a long-term investment in the idea that demand for oil products will remain strong," said Nomura's Mr. Gallant.

Precision's oil-related troubles won't hurt Berkshire's 2015 results, since it will be a new addition. Some analysts expect the deal to add significantly to book value growth in 2016.

That is less true of BNSF. One of North America's biggest freight carriers, BNSF transports products including coal, grain, crude oil, metals and waste, as well as sand and gravel used by shale drillers. With oil futures now trading around $33 a barrel in New York, down 70% from mid-2014, and other commodities also suffering, growth in shipments has stalled. Drilling activity has fallen off in major U.S. shale-gas producing regions, and coal producers are hurting, because cheap natural gas has utilities switching fuels. BNSF is able to offset these effects partially because it too benefits from lower fuel expenses.

Analysts say these trends, which are hurting all major railroads, will continue to squeeze BNSF's revenue. Barclays PLC analyst Jay Gelb said he expects the slowdown in rail traffic to weigh on BNSF and Berkshire going into next year.

As of Dec. 26, BNSF's carload volume was down more than 5% for the fourth quarter to date and flat for all of 2015, according to data from the railroad. Last month, BNSF said it would cut capital spending for the first time in several years. It expects to spend $4.3 billion this year, down from $5.8 billion in 2015.

---

Erik Holm contributed to this article.

Credit: By Anupreeta Das

Subject: Acquisitions & mergers; Crude oil; Company reports

People: Buffett, Warren

Company / organization: Name: Precision Castparts Corp; NAICS: 336412, 331511, 331512; Name: BNSF Railway Co; NAICS: 482111; Name: Berkshire Hathaway Inc; NAICS: 442210, 445292, 511110, 511130, 524126, 335210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.1

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 26, 2 016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768095474

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768095474?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Financial Sector Helps Lift Stocks --- Oil price rises 2.9%, propping up shares of energy companies; Shanghai tumbles

Author: Kuriloff, Aaron

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]26 Feb 2016: C.4.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

U.S. crude-oil prices rose 2.9% to $33.07 a barrel, and energy stocks in the S&P 500 erased earlier declines after Venezuela's oil minister said in a televised interview that the country would meet with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar about efforts to stabilize oil markets.

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U.S. stocks rose for a second consecutive day, drifting higher as oil prices rebounded from early losses.

Energy shares eked out a gain and financial stocks led the S&P 500 after the oil rally, amid persistent concerns about the impact of low crude prices on energy companies and the banks that lent to them.

Still, many investors said they were cautious after large stock-market swings earlier this month. The S&P 500 is up 0.6% so far in February, including a 6.7% gain from this year's low on Feb. 11.

"Volume is depressed here, muted even, on this move today," said Michael Antonelli, equity sales trader at Robert W. Baird. "It's not like we're seeing a surge of activity."

U.S. stock-trading volumes were the fourth-lowest this year, continuing a string of days below the 2016 average.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 212.30 points, or 1.3%, to 16697.29. The S&P 500 gained 21.90 points, or 1.1%, to 1951.70 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 39.60 points, or 0.9%, to 4582.20.

Stocks have been taking their cues from energy markets lately, as swings in oil prices ripple across risky assets such as stocks, high-yield debt and base-metals prices.

Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 1.4% Thursday but are the worst-performing sector so far this year, with a decline of more than 11%.

Morgan Stanley rose 92 cents, or 3.9%, to $24.63, but is down 23% so far this year.

"You have a couple of major pain points of the equity market seeing some relief today," said Brian Fenske, head of sales trading at brokerage firm ITG.

Salesforce.com was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 after the company late Wednesday gave an upbeat outlook for the year ahead and reported better-than-expected revenue for its most recent quarter.

Shares of the company, which supplies software to help salespeople keep track of customers, gained 6.90, or 11%, to 69.42. The company's results are considered a bellwether for a portion of the cloud-computing industry, which investors have avoided recently. Salesforce.com shares have declined more than 11% so far this year.

Campbell Soup rose 2.09, or 3.5%, to 62.62 after the company said profit rose by nearly a fifth, propelled by falling expenses.

Investors have been watching corporate earnings as they assess the health of the U.S. economy.

In a sign of stabilization in the U.S. manufacturing industry, orders for durable goods posted their largest monthly gains since last spring.

Separately, jobless claims crept higher, while still suggesting the labor market is robust.

"It's definitely a mixed picture, and it's mixed for some of the most important indicators for future financial market performance," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas.

Thursday's moves came after a 6.4% tumble in the Shanghai Composite Index, its worst one-day decline since Jan. 26, amid worries about market liquidity.

While concerns around China have weighed heavily on global markets this year, investors are more concerned about declines in China's currency and the management of its economy than its stock market, which is less connected to the global economy.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.699%, from 1.748% Wednesday. Yields fall as prices rise.

The Stoxx Europe 600 snapped a two-day losing streak to rise 2%, with bank shares adding 3.5%. Lloyds Banking Group gained 14% in London after the U.K. bank announced a special dividend. Shares of Deutsche Bank rose 2.7% in Frankfurt, but are still down 33% year to date.

The euro was up less than 0.1% against the dollar at $1.1019. An estimate for eurozone inflation in January was lowered Thursday, while data also showed lending to firms in the eurozone accelerated last month.

In Asia early Friday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.8%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average and Shanghai Composite were each up 0.8%

The dollar rose 0.7% against the yen to 112.99 yen on Thursday.

Credit: By Aaron Kuriloff

Subject: Stock prices; Dow Jones averages; Daily markets (wsj)

Location: United States--US

Classification: 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance; 9190: United States

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 26, 2016

column: Thursday's Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768102876

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768102876?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Bid to Prosecute BP Staff in Gulf Oil Spill Falls Flat; Judges dismissed charges related to Deepwater Horizon blowout; tally: 3 misdemeanors

Author: Viswanatha, Aruna

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Early after the disaster, in 2011, the Justice Department consolidated all the BP investigations into a special task force, giving it a status reached by few cases besides the accounting fraud at now-defunct Enron Corp. Under pressure from Congress and the public after the 2008 financial crisis, in which few executives were charged with crimes, it brought around 50 criminal charges, some carrying penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

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NEW ORLEANS--A critical moment in the government's case against Robert Kaluza, who was facing a criminal charge for his role in the 2010 BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, came when a former colleague was called to testify.

Donald Vidrine had already pleaded guilty and was expected to bolster prosecutors' arguments. But he had trouble articulating exactly what he--and by extension Mr. Kaluza--may have done wrong. "I, we, uh, I may not have, I probably didn't press hard enough," the Louisiana native told a federal jury in New Orleans last week, after a long pause. "I thought I had."

Late Thursday, a jury took less than two hours to find Mr. Kaluza not guilty of the charge he had ignored warning signs leading to the explosion.

It was an ignominious end to the final case in the government's effort to find individuals criminally responsible for the blowout on the Deepwater Horizon. In the four years since the U.S. began its cases against five men, prosecutors withdrew 23 counts before trial, judges dismissed 23 others and jurors acquitted on three counts. The three guilty pleas the government secured were all misdemeanors, and the men received or will likely receive probation.

The outcome, stemming from the largest oil spill off the U.S. coast , in which 11 people died and more than three million barrels of oil poured into the Gulf, is a reminder how hard it is to find individuals culpable for catastrophes where companies were held responsible.

Defendants and their attorneys successfully argued that many people made errors contributing to the disaster and the problems with the cleanup. Judges dismissed charges, implying that prosecutors had overreached, and one made clear he thought the charges had turned a series of mistakes into a criminal act.

When David Rainey, BP's head of Gulf exploration and the most senior executive to face charges, was acquitted on a false-statements charge last year, the judge in the case, Kurt Engelhardt, said in court he thought it was the "correct verdict."

BP's penalties

In 2012, BP paid $4 billion in criminal penalties and pleaded guilty to an array of crimes connected to the spill, including manslaughter charges based on Messrs. Kaluza and Vidrine's alleged negligence. The outcome of individual cases means BP is in the odd position of having pleaded guilty to crimes tied to charges against its employees that were dismissed by courts.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell declined to comment for this article.

Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Rainey obstructed Congress and lied about how much oil was leaking from the well. A BP drilling engineer, Kurt Mix, was charged with obstructing justice by deleting text messages related to efforts to stop the spill. Anthony Badalamenti, a manager at Halliburton Energy Services Inc., which provided services to the drilling rig, was also charged with destroying evidence.

Messrs. Kaluza and Vidrine, the top supervisors at the well site, faced the gravest accusations, stemming directly from the death of 11 men. Each was charged with 11 counts of "seaman's manslaughter"--an 1830s-era statute enacted to address steamboat collisions--for negligence leading to death at sea, plus 11 more of involuntary manslaughter based on "gross" negligence, each carrying a potential penalty of 10 years in prison.

"Make no mistake: While the company is guilty, individuals committed these crimes," then-Justice Department official Lanny Breuer said in announcing the cases in November 2012.

A lawyer for Mr. Kaluza, David Gerger, said: "We are grateful for the jury: they understood technical evidence, and justice was done." A lawyer for Mr. Vidrine, Bob Habens, declined to comment.

Two lawyers for Mr. Rainey, Reid Weingarten and Brian Heberlig, said "the Deepwater Horizon explosion was an accident, not a crime, no matter how hard prosecutors tried to make it one."

A lawyer for Mr. Mix, Joan McPhee, said the prosecutors ignored evidence of Mr. Mix's innocence and "sought to fill the gaping holes in its case by constructing a motive theory that had no grounding in fact."

A lawyer for Mr. Badalamenti, who pleaded guilty and received probation, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said prosecutors from the criminal and environmental divisions and the U.S. Attorney's office in New Orleans had spent years "committed to ensuring that the victims of this tragedy obtain justice and that those responsible for one of the worst environmental disasters in our country's history are held accountable."

Prosecutors were stymied by unexpected hurdles, including when one case was largely dismissed in a way they couldn't appeal, and a conviction vacated due to problems with the jury.

Through their investigation, federal prosecutors said evidence showed Messrs. Vidrine and Kaluza made consequential mistakes.

Mr. Kaluza was the top BP man on board the rig on April 20, 2010, in the hours before the explosion. He and Mr. Vidrine, who took charge of the platform that night, oversaw a pressure test that produced troubling results, and prosecutors claimed they ignored the readings and accepted illogical theories to explain the anomaly.

Pressure test

Experts in the investigation said the decision to dismiss a reading that showed 1,400 pounds of pressure on the drill pipe was reckless. Few could understand the explanation Mr. Kaluza gave to justify his decision. He suggested the pressure might be caused by something other than oil flowing up the pipe.

An email sent by Mr. Kaluza to colleagues to explain the theory five days after the blowout was met with skepticism. One BP vice president's response was: "???????????????????????????????????????????????????...followed by roughly another 500 question marks," as one judge described it. The email was also described in court documents.

"They should have stopped the job and diagnosed the problem," prosecutor Jennifer Saulino argued at the New Orleans federal courthouse last week. "Mr. Kaluza should have called Houston for help, but he didn't."

In the evening after the pressure test, the pipe running from the subsea oil well to the drilling rig buckled around the time a surge of natural gas from the well ignited, causing an explosion.

Mr. Kaluza sent emails that prosecutors said showed flippancy in discussing the disaster. "It was a very exciting night when we all had to get off the drilling rig in the middle of the ocean at night with the rig exploding!!! :)," he wrote a friend.

Mr. Kaluza had only been on the rig for a few days, as a replacement for another employee who was onshore to receive training.

Within a year of the indictment, the prosecutors' case had started to unravel. Among other things, they had to explain their use of the antiquated "seaman's manslaughter" law.

In December 2013, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled the law applied only to personnel who perform marine and navigation operations, not drilling functions.

"The Court recognizes the soundness in the government's argument that oil rig blowouts pose similar risks and safety concerns as did the steamboat explosions of the 19th and 20th centuries," Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. wrote. "Yet it is for Congress to include such types of disasters within the scope" of the law.

On appeal, Justice Department lawyer Sangita Rao argued there were no clear lines between the marine and drilling crews. Appellate Judge Patrick Higginbotham was dismissive, saying, "We need lines when you're gonna send a man to prison."

Worse for the government, judges questioned the basis for the 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter, making points even the defendants hadn't raised, conveying their sense that prosecutors were overreaching.

"It's still a criminal response to a human error," Judge Higginbotham said.

Justice Department officials ultimately decided new evidence from related civil trials made most of the case untenable, according to people familiar with the discussions. Prosecutors moved to withdraw the manslaughter charges in December.

That left Messrs. Kaluza and Vidrine each facing a single misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act by negligently discharging oil into the Gulf. Mr. Vidrine pleaded guilty to that count on the condition he receive probation. Mr. Kaluza chose to fight the charge, leading to an eight-day trial that ended Thursday night with a rapid not-guilty verdict.

Prosecutors' other BP cases also fared poorly. A judge tossed out the obstruction-of-Congress count against Mr. Rainey, BP's Gulf exploration head, when the House of Representatives declined to make certain staffers available.

The ruling left them pursuing what was essentially an add-on count--a single statement Mr. Rainey made during a six-hour FBI interview that they alleged was false.

Some of Mr. Rainey's witnesses brought the jury to tears. One who flew in from Angola to testify on his behalf impressed the judge. "I'm not quite sure I could get somebody to travel halfway across New Orleans to say something nice about me...So the fact that someone flew halfway across the globe to come and testify...I guess is a credit to you, sir," Judge Engelhardt said in court.

Mr. Mix, the drilling engineer, was convicted in 2013 of obstruction of justice for deleting text messages, but the judge granted him a new trial after learning the jury had relied on improper information. The government declined to retry the charge when Mr. Mix in November pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of intentionally causing damage without authorization to a "protected computer"--his iPhone.

Task force

The Justice Department put its Criminal Division in charge of the BP task force, rather than the Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Criminal Division had more resources and could move faster, but the environmental lawyers had more experience with similar offenses.

"It is fair to ask whether the Environment Division, which has far more experience with pollution cases than the Criminal Division, would have prosecuted low-level BP officials like Kaluza and Vidrine," said David Uhlmann, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and former environmental-crimes prosecutor.

He added: "The Justice Department always seeks to hold individuals accountable for corporate crime, but doing so in the Gulf oil spill meant charging individuals who had no control over the corporate culture that caused the spill."

Mr. Kaluza's lawyers sought to show that multiple failures and responsibilities were behind the blowout.

BP owned the oil, but offshore oil driller Transocean Ltd. owned the drilling ship and employed much of the drilling crew. The cement, mixed by oil-field services company Halliburton Co., wasn't of the appropriate composition. A blowout preventer, which hadn't been serviced for nine years, failed to close. Two other safety mechanisms failed to deploy, and a fourth backup didn't work because its battery was burned out.

Mr. Kaluza's attorneys suggested the entire crew were in agreement that the troubling pressure test didn't necessarily indicate danger.

"You wouldn't move on to the next step unless you believed the test was successful?" Mr. Kaluza's lawyer, David Gerger, asked Mr. Vidrine in court.

"Yes," Mr. Vidrine replied.

"You thought at the time, you were being reasonable?" Mr. Gerger asked.

"Yes," he said again.

Credit: By Aruna Viswanatha

Subject: Manslaughter; Oil spills; Petroleum industry; Acquittals & mistrials

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Congress; NAICS: 921120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 27, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768256129

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768256129?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Stre et Journal

U.S. Bid to Prosecute BP Staff Falls Flat --- Judges dismissed charges related to Gulf oil spill; tally: 3 misdemeanors

Author: Viswanatha, Aruna

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 Feb 2016: A.1.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

NEW ORLEANS -- A critical moment in the government's case against Robert Kaluza, who was facing a criminal charge for his role in the 2010 BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, came when a former colleague was called to testify.

Donald Vidrine had already pleaded guilty and was expected to bolster prosecutors' arguments. But he had trouble articulating exactly what he -- and by extension Mr. Kaluza -- may have done wrong. "I, we, uh, I may not have, I probably didn't press hard enough," the Louisiana native told a federal jury in New Orleans last week, after a long pause. "I thought I had."

Late Thursday, a jury took less than two hours to find Mr. Kaluza not guilty of the charge he had ignored warning signs leading to the explosion.

The outcome, stemming from the largest oil spill off the U.S. coast, in which 11 people died and more than three million barrels of oil poured into the Gulf, is a reminder how hard it is to find individuals culpable for catastrophes where companies were held responsible.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell declined to comment for this article.

Messrs. Kaluza and Vidrine, the top supervisors at the well site, faced the gravest accusations, stemming directly from the death of 11 men. Each was charged with 11 counts of "seaman's manslaughter" -- an 1830s-era statute enacted to address steamboat collisions -- for negligence leading to death at sea, plus 11 more of involuntary manslaughter based on "gross" negligence, each carrying a potential penalty of 10 years in prison.

"Make no mistake: While the company is guilty, individuals committed these crimes," then-Justice Department official Lanny Breuer said in announcing the cases in November 2012.

A lawyer for Mr. Kaluza, David Gerger, said: "We are grateful for the jury: they understood technical evidence, and justice was done." A lawyer for Mr. Vidrine, Bob Habens, declined to comment.

Two lawyers for Mr. Rainey, Reid Weingarten and Brian Heberlig, said "the Deepwater Horizon explosion was an accident, not a crime, no matter how hard prosecutors tried to make it one."

A lawyer for Mr. Badalamenti, who pleaded guilty and received probation, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors were stymied by unexpected hurdles, including when one case was largely dismissed in a way they couldn't appeal, and a conviction vacated due to problems with the jury.

Through their investigation, federal prosecutors said evidence showed Messrs. Vidrine and Kaluza made consequential mistakes.

An email sent by Mr. Kaluza to colleagues to explain the theory five days after the blowout was met with skepticism. One BP vice president's response was: "??????????????????????????????????????????????????? . . . followed by roughly another 500 question marks," as one judge described it. The email was also described in court documents.

In the evening after the pressure test, the pipe running from the subsea oil well to the drilling rig buckled around the time a surge of natural gas from the well ignited, causing an explosion.

Mr. Kaluza had only been on the rig for a few days, as a replacement for another employee who was onshore to receive training.

Within a year of the indictment, the prosecutors' case had started to unravel. Among other things, they had to explain their use of the antiquated "seaman's manslaughter" law.

In December 2013, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled the law applied only to personnel who perform marine and navigation operations, not drilling functions.

"It's still a criminal response to a human error," Judge Higginbotham said.

The ruling left them pursuing what was essentially an add-on count -- a single statement Mr. Rainey made during a six-hour FBI interview that they alleged was false.

Some of Mr. Rainey's witnesses brought the jury to tears. One who flew in from Angola to testify on his behalf impressed the judge. "I'm not quite sure I could get somebody to travel halfway across New Orleans to say something nice about me . . . So the fact that someone flew halfway across the globe to come and testify . . . I guess is a credit to you, sir," Judge Engelhardt said in court.

Mr. Kaluza's lawyers sought to show that multiple failures and responsibilities were behind the blowout.

Mr. Kaluza's attorneys suggested the entire crew were in agreement that the troubling pressure test didn't necessarily indicate danger.

"You wouldn't move on to the next step unless you believed the test was successful?" Mr. Kaluza's lawyer, David Gerger, asked Mr. Vidrine in court.

"Yes," Mr. Vidrine replied.

"You thought at the time, you were being reasonable?" Mr. Gerger asked.

"Yes," he said again.

Credit: By Aruna Viswanatha

Subject: Acquittals & mistrials; Oil spills; Petroleum industry

Location: United States--US

People: Kaluza, Robert

Company / organization: Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 211111, 324110, 447110

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: A.1

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 27, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768288017

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768288017?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars; U.S. market is so oversupplied with oil that traders are experimenting with a new place for storing excess crude

Author: Friedman, Nicole; Tita, Bob

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]28 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Federal regulations require railroads that store cars loaded with hazardous materials like oil to comply with strict storage and security measures to keep the cars away from daily rail traffic. BP PLC Chief Executive Bob Dudley joked in a speech this month that by midyear, "every storage tank and swimming pool in the world will be filled with oil."

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The U.S. market is so oversupplied with oil that traders are experimenting with a new place for storing excess crude: empty railcars.

There are plenty to choose from: Thousands of railcars ordered up to transport oil now sit idle because current ultralow crude prices have made shipping by train unprofitable. Meanwhile, traditional storage tanks are filling up as U.S. oil inventories swell to their highest level since the 1930s.

Some industry participants are calling the new practice "rolling storage"--a landlocked spin on the "floating storage" producers use to hold crude on giant oil tankers when inventories run high.

The combination of cheap oil and surplus railcars has created a budding new side business for traders. J.P. Fjeld-Hansen, a managing director for trading company Musket Corp., tested using railcars for storage last year and found he could profit by putting the oil aside while locking in a higher price to deliver it in a later month.

The company built a rail terminal in Windsor, Colo., in 2012 to load oil shipments during a boom in U.S. oil production. Now, Mr. Fjeld-Hansen says, "The focus has shifted from a loading terminal to an oil-storage and railcar-storage business."

Energy Midstream, a trading company based in The Woodlands, Texas, stored an ultralight oil known as condensate on Ohio railcars last month for about 15 days before shipping it to a buyer in Canada.

Dennis Hoskins, a managing partner at Energy Midstream, says there are so many unused tank cars that he is constantly hearing from railcar owners hoping to put them to use. "We get offers everyday for railcars," he said.

The use of railcars for storage could be limited by the cost of track space and safety and liability concerns that have followed a string of high-profile transport accidents. Issues range from leaky cars to the risk of collisions and fires.

Federal regulations require railroads that store cars loaded with hazardous materials like oil to comply with strict storage and security measures to keep the cars away from daily rail traffic. Railroads and users face responsibility for leaks, collisions or other mishaps.

"I don't want the liability," said Judy Petry, president of Oklahoma rail operator Farmrail System Inc. "We prefer not to hold a loaded car."

Still, the oil has to go somewhere. The surge in shale-oil production has created a massive glut that the industry is struggling to absorb. BP PLC Chief Executive Bob Dudley joked in a speech this month that by midyear, "every storage tank and swimming pool in the world will be filled with oil."

Khory Ramage, president of Ironhorse Permian Basin LLC, which operates a rail terminal in Artesia, N.M., said he hears regularly from traders looking to store crude in his railcars.

Crude-storage costs "have been accelerating, just due to the demand for it and less room," he said. "You'll probably start seeing this kick up more and more."

U.S. crude inventories rose above 500 million barrels in late January for the first time since 1930, according to the Energy Information Administration. The cheapest form of storage--underground salt caverns--can cost 25 cents a barrel each month, while storing crude on railcars costs about 50 cents a barrel and floating storage can cost 75 cents or more. The cost estimates don't include loading and transportation.

Railcars hold between 500 and 700 barrels of oil, less than a cavern, tank or ship can store.

The usage of U.S. railcars to transport large volumes of oil picked up steam a few years ago as a byproduct of the fracking boom. Fields sprung up faster than pipelines could be laid, so producers improvised and shipped their output to market by rail. Companies soon realized railroads offered greater flexibility to transfer oil to whomever offered the best price. Some pipeline companies even joined the rail business, building terminals to load and unload oil. U.S. oil settled Friday at $32.78 a barrel, down nearly 70% from mid-2014.

The plunge in oil prices brought that activity to a halt. Analysts estimate there are now as many as 20,000 tank cars--about one-third of the North American fleet for hauling oil--parked out of the way in storage yards or along unused stretches of tracks in rural areas.

Producers and shippers who signed long-term leases for the cars during the boom are stuck paying monthly rates that typically run $1,500 to $1,700 per car. Traders can pay those prices and still profit. Oil bought at the April price and sold via the futures market for delivery a year later could net a trader $8.07 a barrel, not including storage or transportation costs.

As central storage hubs fill up, oil companies are more willing to pay for expensive and remote types of storage, said Ernie Barsamian, principal of the Tank Tiger, which keeps a database of companies looking to buy and sell oil storage space.

The Tank Tiger posted an inquiry Wednesday on behalf of a client seeking 75,000 barrels of crude-oil storage or space to park 100 to 120 railcars loaded with crude.

Mr. Barsamian likened the disappearance of available storage to a coloring book where nearly all the white space has been filled in.

"You're getting closer to the edges," he said.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com and Bob Tita at robert.tita@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman and Bob Tita

Subject: Petroleum industry; Railroads; Cost estimates; Transportation terminals; Inventory; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

People: Dudley, Bob

Company / organization: Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 447110, 324110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 28, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768415938

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768415938?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars; U.S. market is so oversupplied with oil that traders are experimenting with a new place for storing excess crude

Author: Friedman, Nicole; Tita, Bob

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

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Full text:

The U.S. is so awash in crude oil that traders are experimenting with new places to store it: empty railcars.

Thousands of railcars ordered up to transport oil are now sitting idle because current ultralow crude prices have made shipping by train unprofitable. Meanwhile, traditional storage tanks are running out of room as U.S. oil inventories swell to their highest level since the 1930s.

Some industry participants are calling the new practice "rolling storage"--a landlocked spin on the "floating storage" producers use to hold crude on giant oil tankers when inventories run high.

Energy Midstream, a trading company based in The Woodlands, Texas, stored an ultralight oil known as condensate on Ohio railcars last month for about 15 days before shipping it to a buyer in Canada.

Federal regulations require railroads that store cars loaded with hazardous materials like oil to comply with strict storage and security measures to keep the cars away from daily rail traffic. Railroads and users face responsibility for leaks, collisions or other mishaps.

"I don't want the liability," said Judy Petry, president of Oklahoma rail operator Farmrail System Inc. "We prefer not to hold a loaded car."

Khory Ramage, president of Ironhorse Permian Basin LLC, which operates a rail terminal in Artesia, N.M., said he hears regularly from traders looking to store crude in his railcars.

Crude-storage costs "have been accelerating, just due to the demand for it and less room," he said. "You'll probably start seeing this kick up more and more."

U.S. crude inventories rose above 500 million barrels in late January for the first time since 1930, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The cheapest form of storage--underground salt caverns--can cost 25 cents a barrel each month, while storing crude on railcars costs about 50 cents a barrel and floating storage can cost 75 cents or more. The cost estimates don't include loading and transportation.

Railcars hold between 500 and 700 barrels of oil, less than a cavern, tank or ship can store.

The use of U.S. railcars to transport large volumes of oil picked up steam a few years ago as a byproduct of the fracking boom. Fields sprung up faster than pipelines could be laid, so producers improvised and shipped their output to market by rail. Companies soon realized railroads offered greater flexibility to transfer oil to whomever offered the best price. Some pipeline companies even joined the rail business, building terminals to load and unload oil. U.S. oil settled Friday at $32.78 a barrel, down nearly 70% from mid-2014.

Producers and shippers who signed long-term leases for the cars during the boom are stuck paying monthly rates that typically run $1,500 to $1,700 per car. Traders can pay those prices and still profit. Oil bought at the April price and sold through the futures market for delivery a year later could net a trader $8.07 a barrel, not including storage or transportation costs.

The Tank Tiger posted an inquiry Wednesday on behalf of a client seeking 75,000 barrels of crude-oil storage or space to park 100 to 120 railcars loaded with crude.

Mr. Barsamian likened the disappearance of available storage to a coloring book where nearly all the white space has been filled in.

"You're getting closer to the edges," he said.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com and Bob Tita at robert.tita@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman and Bob Tita

Subject: Petroleum industry; Railroads; Cost estimates; Transportation terminals; Inventory; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

People: Dudley, Bob

Company / organization: Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 447110, 324110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768489731

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768489731?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices up on Strong U.S. Data and Lower Oil-Rig Count; April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.45 to $35.55 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

According to an analysis by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. of 53 producers, U.S. crude-oil production is expected to fall 1.1% this year and expand 1.7% in 2017, down from expectations at the end of last year for growth of 4.6% in 2016 and a 3.1% expansion next year.

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Crude oil prices rose in early Asian trade Monday, buoyed by hopes that a fall in U.S. oil rigs would ease excess supply while stronger consumer spending in that country would spark demand for oil.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $32.95 a barrel at 0246 GMT, up $0.17 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.45 to $35.55 a barrel.

U.S. consumer spending grew in January at the fastest clip in eight months, new data showed Friday, as a strong job market and robust wage gains boosted Americans' propensity to spend.

The pickup followed other improvement across the economy in January, including stronger retail sales and home purchases. A report Thursday showed new orders for big-ticket durable goods also increased last month following their worst annual performance since the recession, suggesting the U.S. manufacturing sector could be on the mend.

"This is great news for oil because it signals higher future demand," said an energy analyst at an Australia bank.

Oversupply and tepid demand growth have pushed down prices by around 70% since mid-2014. Analysts say the persistently low prices are forcing some high-cost producers, such as those in North America, to trim production in order minimize cost.

The latest data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows U.S. crude production continues to be on a downtrend, falling to 9.1 million barrels a day in the end week ended Feb 19.

Last week, the U.S. oil-rig count also slid further, falling by 26 to 413, according to a report by industry group Baker Hughes. There are now about 68% fewer rigs of all kinds from a peak of 1,609 in October 2014.

The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry, has fallen sharply since oil prices began to fall.

"The slow decline rate shows that it takes time for the U.S. shale producers to adjust to the low prices but it also shows that at this price level, it is not economical for many of them to keep going," said Barnabas Gan, an energy analyst at OCBC.

Despite signs of falling production, the market remains heavily oversupplied. Some analysts say while the market has little expectation of any concrete actions by major oil producers to support prices, talks between Russia and Saudi Arabia to possibly freeze production at the January levels are providing a glimmer of hope.

This week, traders will take cues from China's February manufacturing data, due Tuesday, and the weekly U.S. crude inventories and production data on Wednesday.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March--the benchmark gasoline contract--was unchanged at to $1.0166 a gallon. ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $315.50 a metric ton, down $9.75 from Friday's settlement.

--Nicole Friedman and Harriet Torry contributed to this article.

Write to Jenny Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Crude oil prices; Petroleum industry; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: Fitzgerald & Co; NAICS: 541820; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768489735

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768489735?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

MoneyBeat: Oil Patch Is Getting Drier

Author: Berthelsen, Christian

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Several, including EOG Resources Inc., Apache Corp., Continental Resources Inc. and Devon Energy Corp. said last week they would cut spending and predicted production would fall.

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The tumble in oil prices continues to cause oil producers to cut back. The question for investors is: When will those cuts lead to a decrease in production?

The number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil patch dropped by 13 last week to 400, according to field-services company Baker Hughes International. That marks the lowest level in more than five years and a huge decline from the peak, down 75% since October 2014. Though the weekly difference was nominal, and the oil market largely looked past the number, the continued decline in production activity is incrementally important. It shows U.S. producers are continuing to scale back.

So far, that decline hasn't translated into an equal decline in output: The U.S. Energy Information Administration's estimates of U.S. oil production have fallen only 6% since their peak last April, as producers have managed to continue pumping while wringing efficiencies out of operations.

But U.S. output, while holding for now above 9.1 million barrels a day, is clearly set to decline as the industry twists under substantial debt burdens and low prices that preclude profitable operations for most. Several, including EOG Resources Inc., Apache Corp., Continental Resources Inc. and Devon Energy Corp. said last week they would cut spending and predicted production would fall.

Perhaps most telling is the level U.S. oil output was at the last time rig counts were this low: December 2009, when the U.S. was producing just 5.5 million barrels a day. That takes the U.S. all the way back to the beginning of the U.S. shale oil boom, and suggests--efficiencies or no--that output can't remain at these lofty levels.

Christian Berthelsen

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen

Subject: Petroleum industry; Statistical data; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: EOG Resources Inc; NAICS: 211111, 213112; Name: Devon Energy Corp; NAICS: 211111; Name: Continental Resources Inc; NAICS: 211111; Name: Apache Corp; NAICS: 324110, 211111, 213112

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768490829

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768490829?accountid=7117

Copyright: (c ) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Moving the Market -- MoneyBeat: Oil Patch Is Getting Drier

Author: Berthelsen, Christian

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: C.2.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's estimates of U.S. oil production have fallen only 6% since their peak last April, as producers have managed to continue pumping while wringing efficiencies out of operations.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

The tumble in oil prices continues to cause oil producers to cut back. The question for investors is: When will those cuts lead to a decrease in production?

The number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil patch dropped by 13 last week to 400, according to field-services company Baker Hughes International. That marks the lowest level in more than five years. Though the weekly difference was nominal, and the oil market largely looked past the number, the continued decline in production activity is incrementally important. It shows U.S. producers are continuing to scale back.

Perhaps most telling is the level U.S. oil output was at the last time rig counts were this low: December 2009, when the U.S. was producing just 5.5 million barrels a day. That takes the U.S. all the way back to the beginning of the U.S. shale oil boom, and suggests -- efficiencies or no -- that output can't remain at these lofty levels.

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen

Subject: Petroleum industry; Petroleum production; Statistical data

Location: United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.2

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768524824

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768524824?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Africa's Richest Woman: Critics Say Angola Oil Revenue Fuels Her Deals

Author: Kowsmann, Patricia; McGroarty, Patrick

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: C.1.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

In both countries, her portfolio of dominant banks, retailers and telecommunications companies makes her an object of media fascination and persistent speculation that her capital comes from her father's access to state oil revenue. Ms. dos Santos's hard-nosed business dealings are also creating controversy in Portugal, where her disagreements with BPI's management over the fate of its Angolan unit risk putting the lender at odds with its supervisor, the European Central Bank.

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Africa's wealthiest woman, the eldest child of Angola's longtime ruler, is frank about the trouble facing her country'soil-dependent economy.

"The economic situation today is difficult," said Isabel dos Santos, whose Angolan investments include the nation's top mobile operator and a supermarket chain battling sinking consumer demand. "With the lower oil prices, we are definitely feeling the pinch."

The 42-year-old business magnate is feeling the pinch as well. The value of her two-continent empire has fallen along with global markets. Forbes magazine puts her net worth at $3.1 billion, down from $3.4 billion last year and $3.7 billion in 2014.

She remains a controversial focus of deal making in Angola and Portugal, where she has invested hundreds of millions of dollars. In both countries, her portfolio of dominant banks, retailers and telecommunications companies makes her an object of media fascination and persistent speculation that her capital comes from her father's access to state oil revenue.

Her 200 million euro ($219 million) deal to buy a majority stake in Portuguese power-equipment maker Efacec Power Solutions SGPS last fall prompted a group of European lawmakers to call for an investigation into whether she has channeled public oil revenue into personal investments. She is feuding with partners in an Angolan telecom venture over alleged unpaid dividends. And she is in conflict with Banco BPI SA, Portugal's second-biggest traded lender, over the fate of its Angolan unit.

In a rare interview, Ms. dos Santos defended her investments and her country. She said she isn't driven by money and drew a distinction between her businesses and the regime run by her father, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

"I'm not financed by any state money or any public funds," she said. "I don't do that."

The gulf between her fortune and Angola's pervasive poverty, which has widened during the 37 years of her father's rule, has made Ms. dos Santos a magnet forcriticism from opposition politicians in Angola and human-rights groups abroad.

Oil wealth has transformed Angola's capital, Luanda, into one of the world's most expensive cities. But the World Bank says two-thirds of the nation's 24 million people live on less than $2 a day. Conditions have worsened with the plunge in oil prices. Africa's second-biggest crude producer has shed thousands of jobs.

Ms. dos Santos's investments have suffered as well. Angola's currency, the kwanza, has lost half its value against the U.S. dollar in a year, eroding the value of the country's businesses. In Portugal, her most important investment -- an 18.6% stake in BPI -- has shed one-fifth of its value over the past year amid a weak market view and a failed takeover attempt by its largest shareholder.

Ms. dos Santos said she used her savings to open a "shack" called Miami Beach, now one of Luanda's most expensive nightclubs. With a friend, she started a trucking company to keep the club and other businesses stocked with beer and soft drinks.

"I'm just tremendously independent," Ms. dos Santos said. "I always had this wish to stand alone and not be in my parents' shadow."

When Angola's government sought investors to build a mobile-phone network in the late 1990s, Ms. dos Santos said she used earnings from both businesses to bid about $1 million for the license. Today, Unitel SA, which Ms. dos Santos oversees as chairwoman, is valued at more than $5 billion.

Unitel is embroiled in a dispute with a foreign business partner. The company is fighting Brazil's Oi SA in court over what the Latin American telecom operator said are $600 million in unpaid dividends to Portugal Telecom SGPS, a Portuguese company Oi merged with in 2013. Portugal Telecom had bought one-quarter of Unitel in 2000.

Oi executives said they discovered during their merger with Portugal Telecom that Unitel hadn't paid dividends to its shareholder for years.

Ms. dos Santos said Unitel had paid the dividends in Angola, but that Oi hadn't repatriated them. Oi said it has yet to receive any dividends.

Ms. dos Santos's hard-nosed business dealings are also creating controversy in Portugal, where her disagreements with BPI's management over the fate of its Angolan unit risk putting the lender at odds with its supervisor, the European Central Bank.

A 2014 European Union ruling placed Angola among countries whose debt is riskier than that of its own members. That resulted in a tighter central-bank limit on BPI's exposure to Angola -- no more than 25% of the bank's funds, a limit BPI exceeds by more than 3 billion euros. The central bank has given BPI until April to raise capital or shed its Angolan operations. BPI proposed spinning off the Angola unit as a free-standing company while keeping control, but Ms. dos Santos blocked the move in a shareholders vote on Feb. 5.

Instead, Ms. dos Santos's Unitel, which owns 49.9% of the Angolan unit, offered 140 million euros to increase its stake in the Angolan unit to a majority at what Caixa BI Investment Bank analyst Andre Rodrigues calculated then would be a low price.

Ms. dos Santos said she understands the ECB's need to mitigate foreign risks and said her bid is a fair price.

Concerns about the source of her wealth burst into the open in October, when five members of the European Parliament asked the European Commission to investigate her purchase of a majority stake in Efacec, saying "legitimate doubts arise on whether the Angolan state might be indirectly financing 'private' major acquisitions of Ms. Isabel dos Santos, incurring in numerous illegalities under Angolan law."

A European Commission official said it has raised the issue with Portuguese authorities, who are responsible for carrying out due diligence if they notice suspicious activities. The Portuguese Financial Intelligence unit didn't answer requests for comment.

The purchase was made by Winterfell Industries, a company set up in December 2014, registered on the Portuguese island of Madeira and controlled by Ms. dos Santos, the parliamentarians said.

Two months before the deal closed, the parliament members wrote, Mr. dos Santos issued a presidential order authorizing Angola's state electricity company to purchase 40% of Winterfell from Ms. dos Santos for an undisclosed sum. Since the purchase, Efacec has become the supplier of three dams being built in Angola.

In the interview, Ms. dos Santos said that the state hadn't concluded its purchase of the Winterfell stake and that Winterfell's purchase of the equipment manufacturer had been paid out of her own pocket with backing from commercial banks.

Credit: By Patricia Kowsmann and Patrick McGroarty

Subject: Tender offers; International finance; Economic conditions -- Angola

Location: Africa Angola

People: Dos Santos, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Isabel

Company / organization: Name: International Bank for Reconstruction & Development--World Bank; NAICS: 928120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.1

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768525458

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768525458?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Railcars Double as Storage in Oil Glut

Author: Friedman, Nicole; Tita, Bob

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: A.1.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

The U.S. is so awash in crude oil that traders are experimenting with new places to store it: empty railcars.

Some industry participants are calling the new practice "rolling storage" -- a landlocked spin on the "floating storage" producers use to hold crude on giant oil tankers when inventories run high.

Energy Midstream, a trading company based in The Woodlands, Texas, stored an ultralight oil known as condensate on Ohio railcars last month for about 15 days before shipping it to a buyer in Canada.

Federal regulations require railroads that store cars loaded with hazardous materials like oil to comply with strict storage and security measures to keep the cars away from daily rail traffic. Railroads and users face responsibility for leaks, collisions or other mishaps.

"I don't want the liability," said Judy Petry, president of Oklahoma rail operator Farmrail System Inc. "We prefer not to hold a loaded car."

Khory Ramage, president of Ironhorse Permian Basin LLC, which operates a rail terminal in Artesia, N.M., said he hears regularly from traders looking to store crude in his railcars.

Crude-storage costs "have been accelerating, just due to the demand for it and less room," he said. "You'll probably start seeing this kick up more and more."

U.S. crude inventories rose above 500 million barrels in late January for the first time since 1930, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The cheapest form of storage -- underground salt caverns -- can cost 25 cents a barrel each month, while storing crude on railcars costs about 50 cents a barrel and floating storage can cost 75 cents or more. The cost estimates don't include loading and transportation.

Railcars hold between 500 and 700 barrels of oil, less than a cavern, tank or ship can store.

The use of U.S. railcars to transport large volumes ofoil picked up steam a few years ago as a byproduct of the fracking boom. Fields sprung up faster than pipelines could be laid, so producers improvised and shipped their output to market by rail. Companies soon realized railroads offered greater flexibility to transfer oil to whomever offered the best price. Some pipeline companies even joined the rail business, building terminals to load and unload oil. U.S. oil settled Friday at $32.78 a barrel, down nearly 70% from mid-2014.

The plunge in oil prices brought that activity to a halt. Analysts estimate there are now as many as 20,000 tank cars -- about one-third of the North American fleet for hauling oil -- parked out of the way in storage yards or along unused stretches of tracks in rural areas.

Producers and shippers who signed long-term leases for the cars during the boom are stuck paying monthly rates that typically run $1,500 to $1,700 per car. Traders can pay those prices and still profit. Oil bought at the April price and sold through the futures market for delivery a year later could net a trader $8.07 a barrel, not including storage or transportation costs.

The Tank Tiger posted an inquiry Wednesday on behalf of a client seeking 75,000 barrels of crude-oil storage or space to park 100 to 120 railcars loaded with crude.

Mr. Barsamian likened the disappearance of available storage to a coloring book where nearly all the white space has been filled in.

"You're getting closer to the edges," he said.

Credit: By Nicole Friedman and Bob Tita

Subject: Crude oil; Railroad transportation

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 447110, 324110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: A.1

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768525599

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768525599?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Genel Shares Plunge After Tony Hayward's Oil Explorer Cuts Crude Reserves at Core Field; Venture downgrades amount of oil it can pump from field in Iraqi Kurdistan

Author: Williams, Selina

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Genel's success finding oil inspired other companies to follow into Kurdistan, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. But Genel said Monday that its estimates of Taq Taq's reserves were wrong and that in fact the field only has 356 million barrels of which 184 million have already been produced.

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LONDON--Former BP PLC chief Tony Hayward's ambitions to build an international oil explorer suffered another blow on Monday when his latest venture, Genel Energy PLC, said it was cutting its crude reserves in half at its main field.

Shares in Genel, once an investor darling for its promises of growth from a portfolio of oil prospects from Angola to Kurdistan, fell more than 40% on Monday after the company downgraded the amount of oil it could pump from its core oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan. Genel also said that low oil prices had diminished the value of the remaining reserves at the field, forcing an impairment charge of $1 billion.

Genel's market value fell to an all-time low of around $310 million Monday, down from the company's peak of more than $5 billion in January 2014.

Mr. Hayward is the chairman of Genel and remains the company's dominant force despite stepping down as chief executive last year.

* Tony Hayward's Genel Gets Kurdish Oil Payment (Dec.2, 2014)

* Genel's Kurdistan Oil Production Surging, Says CEO Tony Hayward (July 3, 2014)

* Kurdistan Oil Payment Raises Hopes for Western Energy Companies (Oct. 15, 2015)

"This is a very disappointing day for myself and the team," Mr. Hayward told investors on a conference call.

The reserves downgrade marked the latest setback for Mr. Hayward since he left the helm of BP in 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He became a controversial figure during the spill for comments that included "I'd like my life back," and he has said that he left BP because it was no longer tenable for him to be its public face

A former geologist who rose from working offshore rigs to take over BP, Mr. Hayward quickly tried to rebuild his career in the oil business. In 2011, he teamed up with financier Nathaniel Rothschild and former Goldman Sachs banker Julian Metherell to raise more than $2 billion for an investment vehicle called Vallares.

It soon merged with Genel Energy, a Turkish energy company with an international portfolio. The combined company had a roughly $2.1 billion market value in 2011.

But many of Genel's prospects didn't work out. It drilled unsuccessfully in offshore Malta, Angola and Morocco and wrote off about $480 million of exploration costs in its 2014 accounts.

The $141 million Angola play, where Mr. Hayward linked up with his previous boss at BP, John Browne, was a particular disappointment. At the time, Mr. Hayward said the deepwater wells were a "rare opportunity to enter into a low-risk multibillion barrel resource play."

Kurdistan represented Genel's big success . A field called Taq Taq was believed to have proven and probable reserves of 683 million barrels--an industry measure for what can be commercially extracted. Genel expects gross production at the field will average around 80,000 barrels a day this year, before starting to fall next year.

Genel's success finding oil inspired other companies to follow into Kurdistan, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

But Genel said Monday that its estimates of Taq Taq's reserves were wrong and that in fact the field only has 356 million barrels of which 184 million have already been produced.

Mr. Hayward said Taq Taq still has 172 million barrels of crude it can pump at around $2 a barrel, allowing it to be potentially profitable even at crude prices of about $36 a barrel--down two thirds from June 2014.

"Whilst it is a major setback, it is by no means the end of Genel," Mr. Hayward told investors on Monday. "Even based on this reserve assessment we continue to enjoy some of the lowest cost producing assets in the world with many years production ahead of them."

For Genel, the downgrade will reduce the company's future cash flows and create uncertainties over the resource base at Tawke--a second Kurdistan oil field in which it holds a stake. It also raises concerns over the attractiveness of Kurdistan to the wider oil industry, potentially putting paid to investor hopes that Genel would get taken over by a bigger oil company.

Investors had hoped that abundant and easy-to-access onshore hydrocarbon resources in Kurdistan offset the political risk of investing there. The country's regional government is embroiled in a dispute with the federal government in Baghdad over oil revenues, and its Peshmerga fighters are battling Islamic State militants on its borders.

"The news today changes this investment thesis," said Citigroup analyst Michael Alsford.

Disputes between Baghdad and Kurdistan over oil revenues mean that Genel is still owed about $400 million by the Kurdistan Regional Government for oil exports via a pipeline to Turkey.

Alex MacDonald contributed to this article.

Write to Selina Williams at selina.williams@wsj.com

Credit: By Selina Williams

Subject: Petroleum industry; Oil exploration; Oil reserves; Petroleum production; Energy industry

Location: Angola

Company / organization: Name: Goldman Sachs Group Inc; NAICS: 523110, 523120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768546055

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768546055?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Gain on Supply Expectations; Count of U.S. oil rigs dropped to lowest level since 2009, according to latest Baker Hughes report

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Asian and European equity markets were lower on Monday, which typically puts pressure on oil given its bearish signal on corporate profits and the global economy.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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NEW YORK--Oil prices rose Monday on signs that U.S. drilling activity is hitting new lows, though new federal data showed that declines in U.S. oil production slowed in December.

Despite plummeting oil prices in the past year and a half, global crude output has increased as production in the U.S. remained high and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has opted keep pumping at a fast clip. The global crude-oil market is expected to remain oversupplied through the rest of the year.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 13 last week to 400 , the lowest level since 2009, Baker Hughes Inc. said late Friday. The oil market often reacts to the rig count on Monday, after traders have had time to digest the news.

U.S. producers have sharply cut spending on new drilling in response to low prices. But they have also cut costs and improved efficiency, so U.S. output hasn't fallen as quickly as some market watchers had expected.

At the current drilling level, production will start declining at a faster pace this year, some analysts say.

"The U.S. energy industry continues to get hurt," said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago, in a note. "What we are seeing is U.S. output crashing and that will start to cut into the U.S. oil glut."

However, data released late Monday showed that U.S. output barely fell in December from the prior month. U.S. production declined 0.5% to 9.3 million barrels a day in December, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday, as onshore production in Texas and North Dakota fell but offshore output rose.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery settled up 97 cents, or 3%, at $33.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 6. Prices posted a 0.4% gain for the month, the first monthly gain since October.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose 87 cents, or 2.5%, to $35.97 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, capping a 3.5% monthly gain. The April Brent contract expired at settlement Monday. Brent for May delivery, the more actively traded contract, rose $1.13 cents, or 3.2%, to $36.57 a barrel.

In another sign that low prices are starting to cut into global oil production, Mexico's state oil company Petroléos Mexicanos said Monday that its production is expected to fall by 100,000 barrels a day to about 2.13 million barrels a day this year due to budget cuts.

However, the glut of oil remains overwhelming in some regions.

Data provider Genscape Inc. said Monday that crude-oil supplies at the key storage hub of Cushing, Okla., rose to a record high in the week ended Friday, according to a person who viewed the data.

And up to 50 oil tankers are waiting to unload cargo in the port of Rotterdam, the highest number since 2009.

An expected drop in Nigerian output has also pushed prices higher. A company that operates a joint venture owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other firms said last week that it declared force majeure in a pipeline in Nigeria due to a leak. Force majeure refers to a clause often included in commodity contracts that offer companies leeway when extraordinary circumstances--such as fires, natural disasters or war--hinder their ability to fulfill obligations.

Oil exports from the pipeline are expected to be halted until April, Reuters reported, cutting Nigerian output by nearly 250,000 barrels a day. Nigeria produces about 1.8 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency.

The oil market is stuck in a tight trading range, said Mike Nielson, a senior derivatives trader at the Copenhagen-based Global Risk Management. "At $36 we are selling and at $32 we are buying," Mr. Nielson said. "Until this level is broken, we won't make a decision."

Talk among large producing nations about a possible production freeze has also boosted prices in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela announced that they are willing to freeze production at January levels . But market participants are skeptical that the deal would be effective without Iran's participation. Iran is expected to increase its production this year now that international sanctions have been lifted.

Moderates and reformers won key seats in Iranian elections Sunday. Analysts say that could strengthen Iran's resolve to increase its oil production.

"Iran appears to have supported what is seen as the moderate regime of President Rouhani who oversaw the nuclear negotiations," said Brown Brothers Harriman analysts in a note. "He cannot now offer to limit Iranian oil exports to participate in an effort to boost prices."

Gasoline futures settled up 3.31 cents, or 3.3%, at $1.0497 a gallon. Prices fell 4.8% this month.

Diesel futures rose 2.48 cents, or 2.4%, to $1.076 a gallon. Prices rose 2% this month.

Georgi Kantchev and Anthony Harrup contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Petroleum industry; Supply & demand; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

People: Novak, Alexander

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768548549

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768548549?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Current Oil Market Situation 'Unsustainable,' 'Unacceptable' -- Nigerian President; The current market situation in the oil industry "is unsustainable and totally unacceptable," Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said.

Author: Oredein, Obafemi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude oil exporter, has seen its revenue fall drastically because of the crash in the price of oil, from which the country earns more than 90% of its foreign exchange and 70% of government revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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IBADAN, Nigeria--The current market situation in the oil industry "is unsustainable and totally unacceptable," as OPEC and non-OPEC members need to cooperate and find common ground to stabilize crude oil prices, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Sunday.

Mr. Buhari was speaking at a bilateral meeting with Qatar Emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

"As members of [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), our relations in the areas of oil and gas, which our two nations heavily rely on, need to be enhanced and coordinated for the benefit of our people. The current market situation in the oil industry is unsustainable and totally unacceptable," Mr. Buhari said, according to a statement from his office. Oil prices have plummeted 70% since mid-2014.

"We must cooperate both within and outside our respective organizations to find a common ground to stabilize the market, which will be beneficial to our nations," the Nigerian leader said on the second day of his state visit to Qatar.

The West African nation faces dwindling foreign-exchange earnings, which led the central bank in July to announce that it wouldn't allocate foreign exchange to importers of 41 items.

Mr. Buhari praised the existing cordial bilateral relations between Nigeria and Qatar. He invited prospective Qatari investors to take advantage of the abundant opportunities in Nigeria and invest in energy, agriculture, real estate development, banking and finance.

Last week, Mr. Buhari held talks with Saudi Arabia King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh on ways to achieve greater stability in the price of crude oil exports.

Credit: By Obafemi Oredein

Subject: Petroleum industry; Crude oil prices; Crude oil

Location: Nigeria Qatar

Company / organization: Name: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries--OPEC; NAICS: 813910; Name: International Monetary Fund--IMF; NAICS: 522298

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: World

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768548623

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768548623?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Eurozone Slides Back Into Deflation; Cheaper oil, sluggish economic growth weigh on prices

Author: Fairless, Tom; Hannon, Paul

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

ECB President Mario Draghi has said the central bank won't hesitate to act if it believes recent financial-market turmoil or lower oil prices will prevent it from reaching its inflation target of just below 2%.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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The eurozone slid back into deflation in February as cheaper oil and sluggish economic growth weighed on prices, ramping up pressure on the European Central Bank to boost its stimulus next week.

Consumer prices in the currency union fell by 0.2% from a year earlier in February, a sharper drop than economists had expected, after rising by 0.3% in the year to January, the European Union's statistics agency said on Monday. It was the first decline since September of last year.

The ECB's governing council is set to meet on March 9 and 10 to decide how to combat persistently low inflation. ECB President Mario Draghi has said the central bank won't hesitate to act if it believes recent financial-market turmoil or lower oil prices

will prevent it from reaching its inflation target of just below 2%.

While the ECB can look beyond a short period of lower prices because its target is measured over the medium term, inflation has now been far below 2% for almost three years.

Monday's data "pretty much seals the deal" on fresh ECB action next week, said Teunis Brosens, an analyst with ING in Amsterdam.

Prices in the euro area previously fell between December 2014 and March 2015, prompting the ECB to announce a program of government bond purchases that it raised to [euro]1.5 trillion ($1.64 trillion) from [euro]1 trillion as recently as December 2015. The central bank has also lowered its deposit interest rate to minus 0.3%.

A key concern at next week's ECB meeting will be whether cheaper oil is feeding through into wages and other prices, as people lower their expectations of future inflation. Such a development could spark a deflationary spiral of ever-lower prices that Mr. Draghi has said the central bank would definitely take action against.

In that context the ECB will be "particularly alarmed" to see that core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, fell to just 0.7% in February, its lowest level in 10 months, said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight in London.

"There is clearly a risk that mild eurozone deflation could prove persistent--particularly if eurozone economic activity continues to stutter," Mr. Archer said.

Economic indicators are starting to flash red. A closely watched survey of purchasing managers last week indicated that eurozone growth probably slowed to its lowest level in over a year in February. A separate survey published by the European Commission showed economic sentiment at an eight-month low.

The ECB will have new economic forecasts for 2016-18 in March that are expected to show inflation this year falling far below the 1.0% estimated in December, following another sharp drop in oil prices.

* Fighting Deflation: ECB Needs Support in Lonely Battle

The March meeting is shaping up to be a test of the ECB's credibility, analysts say, after it disappointed investors in December with a smaller-than-expected expansion of its stimulus. Most expect the central bank to cut further its already negative deposit rate--charged to banks for storing funds at the central bank--and accelerate its bond purchases.

Still, some governing council members, notably Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, have warned against overreacting to lower oil prices. Mr. Weidmann stressed last week that the economic outlook for the euro area was "not as bad as it is sometimes made out to be," and fears of ultralow inflation feeding back into wages and other prices were "far-fetched at the moment."

However, Mr. Weidmann has only one voice on the 25-member governing council, albeit an influential one. His earlier objections to the launch of the bond-purchase program and its subsequent expansion last year were ultimately overruled.

Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com and Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com

Credit: By Tom Fairless and Paul Hannon

Subject: Central banks; Euro; Councils; Eurozone; Economic forecasts

Company / organization: Name: European Commission; NAICS: 928120; Name: European Union; NAICS: 926110, 928120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Economy

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 176854862 8

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768548628?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Pemex Cuts Spending to Shore Up Finances; The oil company will cut $5.5 billion from its budget in reaction to the drop in global oil prices

Author: Harrup, Anthony

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract: None available.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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MEXICO CITY--Mexico's state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, reeling from the drop in world oil prices, will cut 100 billion pesos ($5.5 billion) from its budget this year by deferring investments and reducing costs, Chief Executive José Antonio González Anaya said Monday.

Pemex budgeted for an oil price of $50 a barrel this year and now estimates put a barrel of oil at an average of $25, Mr. González Anaya said in a conference call with analysts. "We have to adjust to the new realities of Pemex," he said.

The moves would lower Pemex's total 2016 budget to 378 billion pesos from 478 billion pesos. Of the 100 billion pesos in cuts, 64.9 billion pesos will be in deferred investments, and 28.9 billion pesos in efficiencies and cost reductions. The plan also includes a reduction in capital expenditures and operating expenditures of 6.2 billion pesos in upstream operations.

Of the deferred investments, 35.4 billion pesos will be in downstream activitiesand 27.5 billion pesos in exploration and production.

"The adjustment doesn't weaken, but strengthens Pemex," said Mr. González Anaya, who was named early this month as chief executive . He said the company faces liquidity issues but not solvency problems.

He said the program would lower investment in production that isn't profitable at current prices, and that deferred investments will pertain to longer-term projects.

At a press conference, Mr. González Anaya said the impact on crude oil production is expected to be about 100,000 barrels a day on average, which would lower output to about 2.13 million barrels a day this year.

The impact could be smaller if prices eventually rise, or if Pemex finds partners with which it could lower production costs of certain fields, he added.

"The cuts were very much needed, everyone in the industry is doing it," said Pablo Medina, a Latin America upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

"Whenever you cut capex, future production is going to fall because those barrels aren't coming in the next year. If you go further into current fields, production is going to take a hit. That's how things work," Mr. Medina said.

Wood Mackenzie expects Pemex's crude oil production to decline to around 2 million barrels a day in 2017 because many of its main projects are in a mature stage, he added.

Mr. González Anaya said Pemex will use flexibility that it has under Mexico's new energy laws to form partnerships and will seek alternative financing for planned refinery upgrades.

The company could use the new laws to reduce its financing needs in areas such as deep-water projects, which have long-term production outlooks, he added.

He said that the budget cuts won't change Pemex's financing plan for 2016, which calls for net debt issuance of debt of around $15.7 billion, including foreign and domestic borrowing.

Deputy Finance Minister Miguel Messmacher said the federal government, which has pledged to back Pemex with capital, will be working in coming weeks to determine how it will support the company.

The budget measures are "a positive step to guarantee the sustainability of Pemex going forward," and serve as a starting point for discussions on strengthening its balance sheet, Mr. Messmacher said.

Mr. Medina of Wood Mackenzie said in the longer term Pemex needs a lighter tax burden. The federal government's reliance on oil to fund its budgets has dropped substantially since a tax overhaul in 2014, but oil still accounts for around a fifth of revenue.

Pemex reported an after-tax loss for 2015 of $30 billion, including a $9.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter. Sales last year fell 27% to $67.8 billion, while operating profit slumped 84% to $5.7 billion, including a $2.7 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter.

Crude oil production last year was 6.7% lower at an average of 2.27 million barrels a day, while crude oil exports edged up 2.6% to 1.17 million barrels a day.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

Credit: By Anthony Harrup

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768607642

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768607642?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Tankers Wait to Unload Cargo in Rotterdam in Another Sign of Glut; Buyers and sellers increasingly send tankers on longer voyages to keep oil out of ports

Author: Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

More * Pressed, U.S. Oil Producers Cut Back * Exxon Mobil Sells Bonds But Cost Has Increased * The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars * The Big New Threat to Oil Prices: A Glut of Gasoline * Oil Producers Should Rebalance Crude Markets, Says Iraq's Governor to OPEC Robert Dudley, chief executive of oil giant BP PLC, said earlier this month that in the second half of the year, "every storage tank and swimming pool in the world will be filled with oil."

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LONDON--Up to 50 oil tankers are waiting to unload cargo in the port of Rotterdam, the highest number since 2009 and another sign that, amid a glut, crude is struggling to find a home.

The unusually high number of ships idling outside of Europe's busiest port comes as onshore tanks around the world brim with crude and products like fuel or jet oil. That has sent buyers and sellers scrambling to find storage, using tankers and even empty railcars to stash the surplus .

The glut is affecting shipping in other ways, as producers send ships carrying oil and oil products from the Middle East on longer routes to Europe to give their cargoes more time to find buyers. That is bad news for the oil market, adding further pressure on a commodity that has fallen to around $30 from more than $100 a barrel in 2014. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at about $36.50 a barrel on Monday in London.

There are currently between 40 and 50 tankers anchored in the waters outside Rotterdam, more than twice the usual number, said Sjaak Poppe, spokesman for the Dutch port.

"Storage in the Rotterdam area is nearing its limits," he said.

Crude stocks rose to 55.4 million barrels last week at a network of storage tanks in the Dutch ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and Belgium's Antwerp, a hub known as ARA, according to information provider Genscape. That is a 2.6% increase from a week earlier.

* Pressed, U.S. Oil Producers Cut Back

* Exxon Mobil Sells Bonds But Cost Has Increased

* The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars

* The Big New Threat to Oil Prices: A Glut of Gasoline

* Oil Producers Should Rebalance Crude Markets, Says Iraq's Governor to OPEC

Robert Dudley, chief executive of oil giant BP PLC, said earlier this month that in the second half of the year, "every storage tank and swimming pool in the world will be filled with oil."

While crude stocks have fallen from a high reached last summer, they are 4.1 million barrels higher than the corresponding week last year, Genscape said.

Stocks of gasoil, a petroleum product used for heating, reached a three-year high earlier this month.

Despite signs that consumers are taking advantage of low prices and using more oil products, analysts say that the world is still producing more than a million barrels of crude oil above demand on any given day.

The glut in Europe is diverting ships to take longer voyages, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ships coming from the Middle East and India have two options to get to ARA--a 15- to 20-day transit through the Suez Canal, or a 30- to 40-day journey around Africa's southernmost point, the Cape of Agulhas.

With onshore storage near its limits and traders needing more time to find a buyer, cargoes are increasingly opting for the longer route.

"This creates a logistical struggle, but there really isn't any urgency to take the shortest route in this market," said Olivier Jakob, director of Swiss-based consultancy Petromatrix.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

Credit: By Georgi Kantchev

Subject: Petroleum industry; Petroleum products

Location: Europe Middle East

Company / organization: Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 447110, 324110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768626844

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768626844?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Streetwise; The Worst Market of All: One Without a Story; Stories about China, negative rates, tightening dollar liquidity, tumbling U.S. profits, impending recession, oil and more have left investors with no clear narrative to follow

Author: Mackintosh, James

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

None of this fits easily with the popular tale of woe for the global economy, impending doom for the economy of China, the world's biggest commodity consumer, or collapsing world trade, all of which should be bad for the price of industrial metals in particular and mining shares more generally. The "divergence trade" was predicated on the idea that with the U.S. Federal Reserve embarking on a tightening cycle and the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank both printing money, the greenback was sure to continue its rise against the yen and euro.

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Markets don't just love a good tale, they need a good tale. There are happy stories for bulls, sad endings to cheer bears or sci-fi horrors about algorithms running wild. Investors devour them all.

This year has provided too many interlocking story lines, though. Yarns have been spun about China, negative rates, tightening dollar liquidity, tumbling U.S. profits, impending recession, oil, sovereign-wealth funds, geopolitics and the rise of populist politicians.

The problem is that all these plots and subplots left investors without a clear narrative to follow. No one can say what's going on, and investors have responded by reducing the risk they take.

One response: The most popular trades went into sharp reverse, with some apparently perverse outcomes.

Perhaps the best measure of the reverse is the impact on stocks popular with hedge funds. A Goldman Sachs index of the 50 U.S. shares most widely held by hedge funds just had its worst six-month underperformance since the financial crisis of 2008-09. It figures: The stocks least liked by hedge funds, as measured by another Goldman index, just recorded their best six-month relative return.

Hedge funds borrow to invest, and have been reducing their debts as their managers worry about the uncertainties ahead. That means selling some of their favorite positions and closing short trades by buying back those stocks they had bet against. Selling by mutual funds and oil-fueled sovereign-wealth funds added to the pressures.

The result was a violent shift: The big winners of 2015 became losers, and the most-hated stocks and sectors are now outperformers.

Few stocks back up the story of lower leverage as much as the FANGs. The four stocks which led the U.S. market--and were loved by hedge funds--last year were Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix and Google. This year only Facebook has beaten the broader market, with Amazon and Netflix both down more than 17% as of Friday.

Biotechnology deserves a chapter to itself: After an extraordinary run-up in prices, U.S. biotech has just had its worst six-month performance since 2002 both in absolute and relative terms.

The most-hated sector in 2015 was mining. MSCI data show that by mid-January of this year, the sector's market value had declined to a smaller percentage of global stocks since the dot-com bubble, when old-economy miners were out of fashion.

From this low base, the sector rebounded a remarkable 30% in a month, with miners returning 10% this year, including dividends, making them by far the best-performing sector in the FTSE World index.

Underlying the bounce is the return of hope for copper, iron ore and other metals, with the Bloomberg Industrial Metals spot index up slightly this year amid a giant swing in the positioning of speculators in futures. The closure of huge bets against copper helped support prices as speculators moved to become broadly neutral on the metal.

Furthermore, weaker prospects for the economy usually increase the rarity value, and share price, of companies able to increase sales whatever the economy does--companies like social media and biotech. Yet their shares have been battered.

The dislocations in the markets do fit the story of investors reducing risk and leaving crowded trades.

Of those, perhaps the most popular bet in the world was on the dollar. The "divergence trade" was predicated on the idea that with the U.S. Federal Reserve embarking on a tightening cycle and the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank both printing money, the greenback was sure to continue its rise against the yen and euro. It didn't.

The dollar is now down almost 5% against the yen over the past year, its worst 12-month performance since the eurozone crisis four years ago. It is still up against the euro year over year, but down so far in 2016.

Like miners and biotech, the valuation of the yen was especially stretched. Adjusted for inflation, the yen reached the weakest level against a basket of Japan's trading partners since 1972. Like a spring, the more stretched a valuation is, the harder it is to keep it extended. With hedge funds and investors no longer piling on the pressure, the yen snapped back hard.

Some parts of the market weren't crowded with fast-money traders, and performed as would be expected from a slowing economy. So far this year, boring companies with reliable earnings and those with high-quality balance sheets have outperformed, while banks were pummeled.

A new narrative is sure to engross investors again soon. Bulls are working on a modern fairy tale where America lifts the world economy by its bootstraps. A satire penned by the bears is proving popular, in which the world has hit its debt limit and rising U.S. interest rates kill financial markets.

As a chronicle of this year's market, though, the story of risk reduction comes with the final chapter still unwritten. Hedge fund leverage has come down a long way, and anecdotal evidence suggests it may have stabilized or even be picking up a little. A happy ending is too much to ask for, but at least the heroine of this saga--your portfolio--has a chance.

Credit: James Mackintosh

Subject: American dollar; Stock prices; Stock exchanges; Biotechnology; Metals; Social networks; Recessions; Hedge funds

Location: China United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Netflix Inc; NAICS: 532230, 518210, 443142; Name: Amazon.com Inc; NAICS: 454111; Name: Google Inc; NAICS: 519130; Name: Goldman Sachs Group Inc; NAICS: 523110, 523120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768631431

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768631431?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Exxon Offers $12 Billion Bond Issue; The oil company bond sale suggests steady investor appetite for debt from quality issuers

Author: Cherney, Mike

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

More * Pressed, U.S. Oil Producers Cut Back * Tankers Wait to Unload Oil * Banks Brace for Potential Energy Losses * Market Turmoil Eases, but Investors Remain Wary * Consumer-Focused Companies' Bonds Buck Drop by Their Stocks Exxon Mobil's borrowing costs relative to market benchmarks have risen since it sold bonds last year.

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Exxon Mobil Corp., the oil giant that still has pristine triple-A ratings, sold $12 billion of new bonds Monday, one of the biggest corporate-debt deals of the year and a sign investors remain willing to lend to higher-quality companies despite concerns about global economic weakness.

Financial markets have been roiled this year by anxiety over the pace of economic growth in China, a prolonged bust in commodity prices and concerns that the U.S. could be headed toward recession. The debt market, even for highly rated companies, was largely shut in the first part of February as U.S. stocks were hit with a selloff.

But market tone has improved in recent weeks amid some more encouraging economic data about the strength of the U.S. consumer, a major driver of economic activity. Debt markets opened up again, allowing companies like Apple Inc. to sell new bonds, and the stock market has bounced back from its mid-February lows.

Exxon Mobil's debt sale indicates the bond boom of recent years isn't letting up yet, and that the debt markets still are available for highly rated companies that need to sell bonds to pay for debt refinancing, capital spending or share buybacks. Several other firms sold bonds Monday, including Hyatt Hotels Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc., according to S&P Capital IQ LCD.

Still, the Exxon Mobil deal illustrates how the decline in energy prices since mid-2014 is hitting even the big multinational companies.

* Pressed, U.S. Oil Producers Cut Back

* Tankers Wait to Unload Oil

* Banks Brace for Potential Energy Losses

* Market Turmoil Eases, but Investors Remain Wary

* Consumer-Focused Companies' Bonds Buck Drop by Their Stocks

Exxon Mobil's borrowing costs relative to market benchmarks have risen since it sold bonds last year. A 10-year bond, for example, was priced to yield 1.3 percentage points more than Treasurys, compared with 0.58 percentage point for a 10-year bond last year, according to S&P Capital IQ LCD. A higher gap in yield means that investors are demanding additional compensation to own the company's bonds.

The company, which plans to use proceeds of its sale for general corporate purposes, is at risk of losing its triple-A rating. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Feb. 2 said it was reviewing the company's rating and could downgrade it by one notch within 90 days. On Feb. 25, Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on the company to negative from stable, saying it expects low oil and gas prices to persist for the next few years, though it still affirmed the triple-A rating for now.

A big company like Exxon Mobil can withstand an increase in borrowing costs or a small credit-rating downgrade. But lower-rated, financially strapped energy companies are finding investors reluctant to buy new bonds, sending the price of existing bonds tumbling and prompting some firms to file for bankruptcy. Others are seeking to restructure their debt loads to buy more time for oil prices to recover, but analysts expect defaults to increase in the coming months.

Exxon Mobil's sale on Monday ties Apple Inc.'s debt deal as the second largest of the year, according to S&P Capital IQ LCD. They trail a $46 billion deal from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, which sold the bonds in January to help pay for its acquisition of SABMiller PLC.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. led Exxon Mobil's sale on Monday.

Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com

Credit: By Mike Cherney

Subject: Bond issues; Petroleum industry; Stock exchanges; Prices; Breweries; Investments; Capital expenditures; Bond ratings; Energy industry

Location: United States--US China

Company / organization: Name: Hyatt Hotels Corp; NAICS: 721110; Name: Moodys Investors Service Inc; NAICS: 522110, 523930, 561450; Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111; Name: Standard & Poors Corp; NAICS: 541519, 511120, 523999, 561450; Name: SunTrust Banks Inc; NAICS: 551111; Name: Apple Inc; NAICS: 511210, 334111, 334220

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768633249

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search.proq uest.com/docview/1768633249?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Marathon Oil to Sell Stock to Shore Up Balance Sheet; Company to sell as much as $1.23 billion of stock

Author: Beckerman, Josh

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Related * Marathon Oil Slashes Capital Spending Amid First Annual Loss in 20 Years Within the past two weeks, Energen Corp., QEP Resources Inc., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. have increased public stock offerings.

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Marathon Oil Corp. plans to sell as much as about $1.23 billion of stock, based on Monday's closing price, intending to use proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and fund part of its capital program.

While the industry has suffered from a severe, prolonged downturn in energy prices, several energy producers have been successful in their efforts to raise cash in stock offerings.

* Marathon Oil Slashes Capital Spending Amid First Annual Loss in 20 Years

Within the past two weeks, Energen Corp., QEP Resources Inc., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. have increased public stock offerings.

In after-hours trading, Marathon shares fell 4% to $7.88. Shares of the company have declined by more than half over the past three months.

The company intends to sell 135 million shares, plus up to 20.25 million additional shares in an overallotment.

In February, Marathon reported its first annual loss in 20 years. The Houston exploration and production company announced a $1.4 billion capital program for 2016, compared with $3 billion in 2015.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

Credit: By Josh Beckerman

Subject: Acquisitions & mergers; Financial performance; Petroleum industry; Capital expenditures

Company / organization: Name: Cabot Oil & Gas Corp; NAICS: 211111; Name: Energen Corp; NAICS: 561210, 221210; Name: Marathon Oil Corp; NAICS: 486110, 324110, 211111, 213112; Name: Devon Energy Corp; NAICS: 211111; Name: QEP Resources Inc; NAICS: 211111, 211112

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768692857

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768692857?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Hertz Swings to Profit but Cuts 2016 Outlook; Cites weakness in U.S. car rental and upstream oil and gas markets

Author: Armental, Maria

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]29 Feb 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. swung to a profit in the fourth quarter but cut its projections for 2016, citing continued weakness in its U.S. car rental business and the energy sector, which has driven down demand for its rental equipment.

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The Naples, Fla., company, which has been trying to turn around operations following a yearslong restatement of results over accounting errors, said Monday it plans to press on with its cost-cutting push, targeting $350 million in cuts this year.

In 2015, it cut about $230 million in expenses, above its initial target.

Shares, which have lost nearly two-thirds of their value over the last 12 months, rose 1.8% to $8.65 in after-hours trading Monday.

For 2016, the car rental company projects adjusted corporate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion with U.S. car rental revenue increasing 1.5% to 2.5%. That compares with its earlier view of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion in adjusted Ebitda and a rental revenue increase of 2.5% to 3.5% in the U.S.

The guidance includes $600 million to $650 million, down from $625 million to $675 million, from the equipment-rental business that it plans to spin off by midyear .

In 2015, Hertz reported $1.49 billion in adjusted Ebitda while U.S. rental declined 3% to $6.29 billion.

Hertz, which had to adjust financial results dating to 2011 after discovering a series of accounting errors, rents cars under the Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar and Firefly brands.

Taking advantage of declining car ownership rates, Hertz has looked for growth in ride-sharing service providers. For example, last year it launched a pilot program in Last Vegas and Denver in which Hertz rented some of its cars to Lyft drivers at discounted rates.

Over all, Hertz reported a profit of $70 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $234 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Hertz reported a profit of 5 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of 22 cents a share.

Revenue fell 5.7% to $2.41 billion, with currency fluctuations lowering revenue by about $75 million, Hertz said.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected profit of 4 cents a share on $2.52 billion in revenue.

In the latest period, domestic car-rental revenue, which accounts for the bulk of the company's revenue, fell 5% to $1.41 billion.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

Credit: By Maria Armental

Subject: Automobile rentals

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Hertz Global Holdings Inc; NAICS: 532111, 551112; Name: Thomson Reuters; NAICS: 511110, 511140

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Feb 29, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768693879

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768693879?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Author: Mackintosh, James

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

Markets don't just love a good tale, they need a good tale. There are happy stories for bulls, sad endings to cheer bears or sci-fi horrors about algorithms running wild. Investors devour them all.

The problem is that all these plots and subplots left investors without a clear narrative to follow. No one can say what's going on, and investors have responded by reducing the risk they take.

One response: The most popular trades went into sharp reverse, with some apparently perverse outcomes.

The result was a violent shift: The big winners of 2015 became losers, and the most-hated stocks and sectors are now outperformers.

Biotechnology deserves a chapter to itself: After an extraordinary run-up in prices, U.S. biotech has just had its worst six-month performance since 2002 both in absolute and relative terms.

From this low base, the sector rebounded a remarkable 30% in a month, with miners returning 10% this year, including dividends, making them by far the best-performing sector in the FTSE World index.

The dislocations in the markets do fit the story of investors reducing risk and leaving crowded trades.

Write to James Mackintosh at James.Mackintosh@wsj.com

Credit: By James Mackintosh

Subject: American dollar; Stock prices; Stock exchanges; Biotechnology; Metals; Social networks; Recessions; Hedge funds

Location: China United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768696509

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768696509?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Crude Oil Prices Fall as China Manufacturing Data Disappoint; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.22 to $36.35 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Oil prices rose overnight after China's central bank lowered the amount of deposits that banks must hold in reserve by 0.5 percentage point late Monday, a sign the world's second-biggest economy is seeking ways to prop up its slowing economy.

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Crude-oil prices were lower in early Asia trade Tuesday, after China's official manufacturing data showed a seventh consecutive contraction in February, deepening concerns that oil demand from the world's second-largest economy will slow.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $33.61 a barrel at 0219 GMT, down $0.14 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.22 to $36.35 a barrel.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index, a gauge of the nation's factory activity, fell to 49.0 in February from 49.4 a month earlier, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. A PMI reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, while a reading below 50 points to a contraction.

However, some economists cautioned that seasonal factors were likely in play as most factories were closed for a week in February during the Lunar New Year break.

"Slowing manufacturing activities in China will definitely weigh on sentiment," said Stuart Ive, a client manager at OM Financial.

China's aggressive consumption of oil has been a bright spot in the gloomy oil market. But as China moves gradually from a heavy industry-based economy to a more service-oriented one, analysts say the country's oil-demand growth will weaken.

CLSA estimates China's crude-oil imports will likely rise at least 6% this year, slowing from the 8.8% growth in 2015.

However, some analysts say China is still largely a manufacturing economy. They expect Chinese refiners and factory owners to take advantage of low oil prices, which could help support China's demand for foreign oil.

"Chinese independent refiners are in the midst of hiking output, seizing the [relatively new] opportunity to process imported crude at the expense of fuel oil as a feedstock," said consulting firm JBC Energy in a report.

Daniel Ang, an energy analyst at Phillip Futures, said profit-taking after the overnight rally also contributed to the decline. Oil prices rose overnight after China's central bank lowered the amount of deposits that banks must hold in reserve by 0.5 percentage point late Monday, a sign the world's second-biggest economy is seeking ways to prop up its slowing economy.

"This move, highlighting People's Bank of China's priority on economic growth and its equity market, has in turn suggested that China's demand for commodities, especially crude oil, base metals and gold, will remain healthy in 2016," said OCBC in a note.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 54 points to $1.3153 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.0905, 32 points lower.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $319.25 a metric ton, down $5.25 from Monday's settlement.

Write to Jenny Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Manufacturing; Petroleum industry; Factories; Futures; Crude oil prices; Economic growth

Location: Asia China

Company / organization: Name: Peoples Bank of China; NAICS: 521110; Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768701968

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768701968?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Global Finance: Exxon Mobil Sells Bonds But Cost Has Increased

Author: Cherney, Mike

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: C.3.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

Still, the Exxon Mobil deal illustrates how the decline in energy prices since mid-2014 is hitting even the big multinational companies.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. led Exxon Mobil's sale on Monday.

Credit: By Mike Cherney

Subject: Bond issues; Petroleum industry

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111

Classification: 8510: Petroleum industry; 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance; 9190: United States

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.3

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768780015

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768780015?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Hits Two-Month High on Talk of Output Agreement; Major players speak of 'critical mass' agreeing to freeze oil production

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the Energy Information Administration to report Wednesday that crude stockpiles rose by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 26, while supplies of gasoline and distillates, including heating oil and diesel fuel, fell.

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NEW YORK--Oil markets rose to a two-month high Tuesday as traders focused on the possibility of an output agreement among large producers.

Russia's energy minister said Tuesday that a "critical mass" of oil-producing countries had agreed to freeze oil production, state news agency TASS reported.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar announced last month that they were willing to freeze production at January levels. Other countries in Africa, Latin America and the Persian Gulf have expressed optimism about joining the deal. Russia and Venezuela said last week they are planning a broad meeting of producers in mid-March.

The United Arab Emirates' energy minister said Tuesday that "everyone should move toward freezing production whether they like it or not," due to current low oil prices, according to the country's state news agency.

Related Coverage

* 'Critical Mass' of Oil-Producing Countries Agree to Freeze Production

* Global Stocks Edge Higher

Light, sweet crude settled up 65 cents, or 1.9%, at $34.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 5. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 24 cents, or 0.7%, to $36.81 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the highest level since Jan. 4.

Market participants are unsure whether the measure would help shrink the global glut of crude, as production was high in January and Iran hasn't said it would participate in the deal. Iran's oil output is expected to rise this year now that international sanctions were lifted.

Traders are also waiting on weekly U.S. inventory data due Wednesday. U.S. crude stockpiles are at their highest level in more than 80 years, and another inventory increase could weigh on prices.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday that its own data for that week showed a 9.9-million-barrel increase in crude supplies, a 2.2-million-barrel decrease in gasoline stocks and a 2.7-million-barrel rise in distillate inventories, according to market participants. Prices fell in late trading on the news.

Global inventories of crude oil and refined products have climbed in recent months amid robust oil production.

U.S. production has declined from a peak in April 2015, but more slowly than some investors initially expected. Companies have cut spending on new drilling but also increased the amount of crude they can pump at lower prices. Offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico has also increased as long-planned projects came online.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said late Monday that U.S. production fell by 43,000 barrels a day, or 0.5%, to 9.3 million barrels a day in December from the month before. That is a smaller decline than in the previous two months, when production fell by more than 70,000 barrels a day.

"The resilience of North American shale oil production to low prices remains remarkable," said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodities research at Julius Baer, in a note. Still, Mr. Ruecker said he expects prices to rise in the coming months, and "last year's slump in drilling activity finally leads to less supply."

U.S. production is expected to fall in 2016. The number of rigs drilling for oil has dropped 75% from a peak in October 2014, and a number of large companies have announced that they expect their production to fall this year.

James Marson and Summer Said contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Petroleum industry; Supply & demand; Inventory; Petroleum production

Location: Qatar Iran Venezuela Russia United States--US Africa Latin America Persian Gulf Saudi Arabia

Company / organization: Name: Critical Mass; NAICS: 541810; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210; Name: American Petroleum Institute; NAICS: 813910, 541820

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768839293

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768839293?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Tankers Wait to Unload Oil

Author: Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: C.4.

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Abstract:

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As many as 50 oil tankers are waiting to unload cargo in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the highest number since 2009 and another sign that, amid a glut, crude is struggling to find a home.

The unusually high number of ships idling outside Europe's busiest port comes as onshore tanks around the world brim with crude and products such as jet oil. That has sent buyers and sellers scrambling to find storage, using tankers and even empty railcars to stash the surplus.

The glut is affecting shipping in other ways, as producers send ships carrying oil and oil products from the Mideast on longer routes to Europe to give their cargoes more time to find buyers. That adds further pressure on a commodity that has fallen recently to around $30 a barrel from over $100 in 2014. Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled at $35.97 a barrelMonday.

There are between 40 and 50 tankers anchored in the waters outside Rotterdam, more than twice the usual number, said Sjaak Poppe, spokesman for the Dutch port. "Storage in the Rotterdam area is nearing its limits," he said.

While crude stocks have fallen from a high reached last summer, they are 4.1 million barrels higher than the corresponding week last year, Genscape said. Stocks of gas oil, a petroleum product used for heating, reached a three-year high earlier this month.

Despite signs consumers are taking advantage of low prices and using more oil products, analysts say the world is producing over a million barrels of crude above demand on any given day.

The glut in Europe is diverting ships to take longer voyages, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ships coming from the Mideast and India have two options to get to ARA: a 15- to 20-day transit through the Suez Canal or a 30- to 40-day journey around Africa's southernmost point, the Cape of Agulhas. Cargoes are increasingly taking the longer route.

Credit: By Georgi Kantchev

Subject: Commodity prices; Crude oil

Classification: 8510: Petroleum industry; 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance; 9180: International

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

column: Commodities

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspaper s

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768850133

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768850133?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Anadarko Slashes Capital Spending Budget for 2016; The oil-and-gas producer also plans asset sales of as much as $3 billion this year amid efforts to improve its balance sheet

Author: Stynes, Tess

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

In prepared remarks, Chairman and Chief Executive Al Walker said the company expects its cash position to be strengthened during the year though substantial cost reductions, asset sales and the company's dividend cut, which was unveiled in early February.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Anadarko Petroleum Corp. plans to slash capital spending for 2016 by nearly half, joining a long list of energy companies reining in budgets amid efforts to ride out the commodities downturn.

The company's shares, down 54% in the past 12 months, rose 2.9% to $39.04 in recent trading.

The Houston oil-and-gas producer also said it plans asset sales of as much as $3 billion this year amid efforts to improve its balance sheet. The planned asset sales include $1.3 billion in asset monetizations unveiled last week.

Previous Coverage

* Anadarko Petroleum Slashes Dividend by 81% (Feb. 9)

* Anadarko Raises Output Guidance, to Cut Capex(Dec. 17, 2015)

* Anadarko Sees Lower 2015 Capital Spending, Rig Activity (March 3, 2015)

The company provided details about its plans for the year in conjunction with its 2016 investor conference call.

The company projected capital expenditures of between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion for 2016, compared with roughly $5.4 billion in 2015.

The biggest cuts are expected in Anadarko's U.S. onshore operations, with capital spending down roughly 70% to about $1.2 billion. The company said it is cutting its U.S. onshore rig count by 80% to five this year, compared with an average of 25 in 2015. The company said it plans to focus on roughly 230 drilled but intentionally uncompleted wells.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

Credit: By Tess Stynes

Subject: Petroleum industry; Capital expenditures; Financial performance

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Anadarko Petroleum Corp; NAICS: 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768913954

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768913954?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Production Freeze Countries Reach 'Critical Mass': Russian Energy Minister; Producers aim to stabilize the price of oil around $50-$60 a barrel

Author: Marson, James

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Energy Minister Alexander Novak said after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin and top Russian oil executives that countries producing 73% of the world's oil had agreed to the tentative deal, brokered earlier this month by Russia and Saudi Arabia and aimed at supporting the oil price.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

MOSCOW--Russia's energy minister said Tuesday that a "critical mass" of oil-producing countries had agreed to freeze oil production, and that a final decision on such a measure would be taken this month, state news agency TASS reported.

Mr. Novak said talks were continuing on how to monitor implementation of the production freeze. He said the aim was to stabilize the price of oil around $50-$60 per barrel, as any higher price would again create excess supply.

Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com

Credit: By James Marson

Subject: Petroleum industry; Energy economics; Petroleum production

Location: Iran Russia Saudi Arabia

People: Putin, Vladimir Novak, Alexander

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1768979384

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1768979384?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Analysts Forecast 2.6 Million-Barrel Rise in Crude-Oil Inventories

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday that its own data for that week showed a large, 9.9-million-barrel surge in crude supplies, a 2.2-million-barrel decrease in gasoline stocks and a 2.7-million-barrel rise in distillate inventories, according to market participants.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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NEW YORK--U.S. crude-oil stocks are expected to increase in data due Wednesday from the Department of Energy, according to a survey of analysts by The Wall Street Journal.

Estimates from 11 analysts surveyed showed that U.S. oil inventories are projected to have risen by 2.6 million barrels, on average, in the week ended Feb. 26.

Nine analysts expect stockpiles to rise, while two expect a fall. Forecasts range from a rise of 5 million barrels to a drop of 3 million barrels.

The closely watched survey from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. EST Wednesday.

Gasoline stockpiles are expected to fall by 1.5 million barrels, according to analysts. Ten analysts expect a drop, with one expecting a gain. Estimates range from a rise of 1.5 million barrels to a drop of 2.7 million barrels.

Stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, are expected to fall by 1.3 million barrels. Ten analysts expect a decline, while one sees a rise. Forecasts range from a rise of 300,000 barrels to a drop of 3 million barrels.

Refinery use is seen falling 0.3 percentage point to 87% of capacity, based on EIA data. Six analysts expect a decline, while two see a rise, one expects no change and two didn't provide an estimate. Forecasts range from an increase of 0.5 point to a fall of 1.0 point.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Petroleum industry; Inventory

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Department of Energy; NAICS: 926130; Name: American Petroleum Institute; NAICS: 813910, 541820

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769006499

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769006499?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

'Critical Mass' of Oil-Producing Countries Agree to Freeze Production; Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said countries producing 73% of the world's oil agreed to the tentative deal

Author: Marson, James; Said, Summer; Peker, Emre

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]01 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

After meeting with President Vladimir Putin and top Russian oil executives, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said countries producing 73% of the world's oil had agreed to the tentative deal , according to state news agency TASS.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

MOSCOW--A "critical mass" of oil-producing countries have agreed to freeze oil production, Russia's energy minister said Tuesday, as African, Latin American and Persian Gulf producers expressed optimism about joining the deal.

Mr. Novak said capping oil production would prove effective even without Iran , which hasn't said it would take part.

The deal was brokered in February in Doha among Russia and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries : Venezuela, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Russia and Venezuela said last week they were planning a broad meeting of producers in mid-March to expand the agreement to freeze their production.

Oil producers have turned to the concept of limiting their output to January levels as a form of action to boost prices that have fallen more than two-thirds since the middle of 2014. Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi, the de facto leader of OPEC, has said outright supply cuts aren't on the table because producers don't trust each other.

Oil supplies outpace demand by more than 1 million barrels on any given day, and billions of barrels of oil are being stored rather than consumed.

The oil-production freeze has gained traction among a growing number of producers.

In an interview Monday with CNBC, Nigeria's oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said the chances of a successful production freeze agreement are "very high."

"In terms of the production freeze, we are working on the issue," Mr. Kachikwu said. "There is a lot of conversation going on, and I think there is a lot of consensus building on the issue of the freeze."

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said his country, Colombia and Mexico were among countries considering to join a producers' meeting due mid-March, according to state television there.

Officials from Persian Gulf producers said they were expecting a majority of OPEC producers to freeze production, with the exception of Iran and Iraq.

"It is necessary to reach an agreement on a production freeze" to fix the oil market and there are no calls to hold an emergency OPEC meeting, the United Arab Emirates' Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said, according to the country's state news agency. "I believe that current prices will force everyone to freeze production...everyone should move toward freezing production whether they like it or not."

OPEC officials said they are still have major doubts on whether Russia will stick to its word, adding no location or date had been fixed.

A production freeze, if implemented, would happen when countries are pumping at or near record levels, including Saudi Arabia and Russia. Excluding Iraq and Iran could also limit the freeze's effectiveness, as both countries have been racing to increase their output.

An Iranian official on Tuesday reiterated the country's position that it would consider oil-production caps only after the country's output rises back to the levels before the West imposed sanctions over its nuclear program. Now that those sanctions have been lifted , Iran is trying to increase production by as much as 1 million barrels a day this year.

Iran may increase oil production by another 500,000 barrels to about 3.9 million barrels per day by August, said Mehran Amirmoeini of the Institute for International Energy Studies, which is affiliated with Iran's oil ministry. Iran may then consider participating in negotiations with OPEC and Russia, he said.

Benoit Faucon in London contributed to this article.

Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com , Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com and Emre Peker at emre.peker@wsj.com

Credit: By James Marson, Summer Said and Emre Peker

Subject: Petroleum industry; Agreements; Energy economics; Petroleum production

Location: Russia Iran Venezuela Saudi Arabia Persian Gulf

People: Correa, Rafael Kachikwu, Emmanuel Ibe Naimi, Ali I Putin, Vladimir

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 1, 2016

Section: World

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769018421

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769018421?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Ex-Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon Indicted on Antitrust Charges; Justice Department alleges McClendon orchestrated conspiracy not to compete for oil and gas leases

Author: Harder, Amy; Kendall, Brent

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The Justice Department said the charges were the first resulting from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other possible anticompetitive actions in the oil and natural gas industry.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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WASHINGTON--Aubrey McClendon, former CEO of Chesapeake Energy and one of the biggest names in the U.S. energy boom, was indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural-gas leases.

The Justice Department unveiled the charges Tuesday evening, alleging Mr. McClendon, who stepped down as the top executive of Chesapeake in 2013, orchestrated a conspiracy between two large oil and natural-gas companies to not bid against each other for the purchase of certain leases in northwest Oklahoma.

Mr. McClendon didn't immediately respond to an email request for comment.

* For Chesapeake Energy, Hope Is the Strategy

* Chesapeake's Woes Rattle Pipeline Partners

* A Roller Coaster For Chesapeake Investors

Mr. McClendon co-founded Chesapeake in 1989 and led the company until he was pushed out in 2013 by activist investors who had become concerned about his leadership and cash short-falls at the debt-laden company.

Gordon Pennoyer, a spokesman for Chesapeake, said the company has been cooperating with the Justice Department "for some time," providing investigators with information on the company's leasing practices under Mr. McClendon.

"Chesapeake does not expect to face criminal prosecution or fines relating to this matter," Mr. Pennoyer said, adding that the company has taken significant steps to address legacy issues and comply with laws and regulations.

The under the alleged conspiracy, which ran between December 2007 and March 2012, it was decided ahead of time who would win the leases. The Justice Department didn't name anyone else it believed participated in the alleged conspiracy.

Bill Baer, head of the department's antitrust division, said Mr. McClendon's actions "put company profits ahead of the interests of leaseholders entitled to competitive bids for oil and gas rights on their land."

Mr. McClendon is now the head of American Energy Partners LP.

Credit: By Amy Harder and Brent Kendall

Subject: Price fixing; Antitrust; Leases; Indictments

Location: United States--US Oklahoma

Company / organization: Name: American Energy Partners LP; NAICS: 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769071492

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769071492?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Slide as Overhang Worries Deepen; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.17 to $36.64 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Oil prices surged overnight to a two-month high on the rising possibility of a production freeze after Russia's energy minister said a "critical mass" of oil-producing countries--which together produce around 73% of the world's oil--had agreed to hold output at January levels, state news agency TASS reported.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Crude-oil prices pared gains in early Asia trade Wednesday on expectations for greater-than-expected growth in U.S. crude stockpiles last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $33.96 a barrel at 0207 GMT, down $0.44 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.17 to $36.64 a barrel.

Based on an estimate by industry group American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude stocks likely grew by 9.9 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 26. The forecast is much larger than the 2.6 million-barrel expansion estimated by analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey.

U.S. oil production has tapered gradually from a peak in April 2015, but the rate of decline has yet to materialize in a significant price recovery, as many shale producers remain resilient despite falling revenue.

As of last week, total U.S. crude inventories stood at 507.6 million barrels, a fresh weekly high. Historical monthly data shows inventories last surpassed 500 million barrels in 1930. The official data will be released by the U.S. Department of Energy later Wednesday.

"We'd also not assume that a smaller Department of Energy draw would receive bullish reception since any increase at all sets a new record," said Tim Evans, a Citi Futures analyst.

The pact, however, was conditional on the participation of other oil producers. Iran has reiterated that it won't join and will continue to pump until production returns to about 4 million barrels a day.

Russia and Venezuela said last week they were planning a broad meeting of producers in mid-March to expand the agreement to freeze production.

In an interview Monday with CNBC, Nigeria's oil minister, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, said the chances of a successful production freeze agreement are "very high."

Most market observers, however, say capping production at January levels won't result in any immediate impact on the glut because many producers were producing at a high level. Russia's January output reached record high of 10.88 million barrels.

"The fact they have all come together is a step in the right direction," said Virendra Chandra, an Energy Aspects analyst.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 17 points to $1.3018 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.0950, 45 points lower.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $322.75 a metric ton, down $0.25 from Tuesday's settlement.

Write to Jenny Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Petroleum industry; Inventory; Futures; Crude oil prices; Petroleum production

Location: Russia United States--US Asia

People: Kachikwu, Emmanuel Ibe

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210; Name: American Petroleum Institute; NAICS: 813910, 541820; Name: Department of Energy; NAICS: 926130

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769101887

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769101887?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Stocks Edge Higher; Energy shares rally on higher oil prices

Author: Vaishampayan, Saumya

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract: None available.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

U.S. stocks rose slightly Wednesday, as higher oil prices fueled a rally in energy shares.

Stocks have rebounded since mid-February, as investors reassessed the health of the U.S. economy and a bounce in oil prices alleviated pressures on junk bonds and commodity-sensitive companies.

What isn't clear is whether the stock-market recovery will turn into a sustained move higher.

Underscoring the uncertainty, much of the rally has been driven by short-term investors covering bearish bets rather than by longer-term asset managers stepping in and buying stocks, traders say.

The materials, industrials and energy sectors have gained the most over the past month, though earnings expectations for those sectors remain gloomy amid low oil prices. And even though stocks have tumbled from records, valuations remain elevated compared with long-run averages.

"The overall sentiment on this bounce seems very weak," said Nathan Thooft, head of asset allocation at John Hancock Asset Management, adding that he doesn't expect stocks to advance much further.

* Some Funds Turning Bullish on Energy

* Investors Turn Finicky on Corporate Bonds

* The Real Reason ICE Covets the LSE

While investors had been eager to snap up stocks after pullbacks in recent years, that has changed in recent months, Mr. Thooft said.

"The market has moved from a 'buy the dip' mentality...to more of a 'sell the bounce' mentality," he said.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34.24 points, or 0.2%, to 16899.32. The S&P 500 rose 8.10, or 0.4%, to 1986.45 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.83, or 0.3%, to 4703.42.

U.S. crude-oil prices gyrated after data showed a surge in domestic crude stockpiles, settling 0.8% higher at $34.66 a barrel. Energy shares rose the most in the S&P 500, up 2.5%.

Recent economic reports, including a better-than-expected reading on fourth-quarter growth, have added to optimism on the economy. "The stock market priced in a [U.S.] recession, and we're nowhere near a recession," said Kully Samra, U.K. managing director at Charles Schwab.

Some investors say they are encouraged by the bounce in the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which tracks airlines, railroads and trucking companies in the U.S. The 20-stock index has recovered all of its losses this year, and now is up 0.1% in 2016.

"You can't hide economic activity from transport stocks," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "If you're making goods and services, you have to get them somewhere."

Data showing continued strength in the labor market attracted attention Wednesday, especially as investors search for clues about when the Federal Reserve will make its next interest-rate increase. The Fed considers employment and inflation data as it makes monetary-policy decisions.

Private payrolls in the U.S. rose by 214,000 in February, according to payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Moody's Analytics. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a rise of 185,000.

The Labor Department's February jobs report, set for release Friday, is forecast to show that employers added 200,000 jobs last month.

"We need that Goldilocks number on Friday," said Chris Gaffney, president at EverBank World Markets. A headline number sharply above 200,000 could throw the prospect of a rate increase in the short term back on the table, catching many investors offside. On the other hand, a number below 150,000 could revive some fears about the strength of the U.S. economy, he added.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%, extending its rally to five consecutive sessions. European stocks have been bolstered by expectations of more stimulus from the European Central Bank at its meeting next week.

Stocks in Japan and Shanghai rose by more than 4% on Wednesday, while shares in Australia gained 2%.

Trading in haven assets was mixed. Treasury prices slipped, pushing the 10-year yield up to 1.848%, from 1.835% on Tuesday. The dollar fell 0.5% against the yen to ¥113.48. Gold rose 0.9% to $1,241.10 an ounce.

In corporate news, Abercrombie & Fitch reported its first same-store sales gain in over three years as its quarterly profit soared 33%. Shares rose $1.27, or 4.4%, to $30.41.

Monsanto cut the midpoint of its fiscal 2016 profit forecast by 11% but saw signs of stabilization in the weak farm economy. Its shares fell 7.19, or 7.8%, to 85.30.

Riva Gold contributed to this article.

In the Markets

* Oil Prices Notch Gain Despite U.S. Stockpiles

* Treasurys Lower on Strong Data

* Gold Rises

* Dollar Falls Ahead of Friday Jobs Report

* Asian Shares Stage Big Rebound

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com

Credit: By Saumya Vaishampayan

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

column: U.S. Markets

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769384938

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769384938?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

ECB Ready to Boost Inflation With New Stimulus Measures, Says Bank of France Governor; ECB governing council member says inflation should become positive later this year as oil prices stabilize

Author: Dalton, Matthew

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract: None available.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

PARIS--The European Central Bank is ready to roll out new stimulus measures to boost worryingly low inflation in the eurozone, Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday.

Those tools include targeted loans to commercials banks, more asset purchases and providing more detail about how long the ECB might keep interest rates at low levels, Mr. Villeroy de Galhau said in testimony to the French legislature.

* ECB's Mario Draghi Hints at More Stimulus in March (Jan.21, 2016)

* ECB's Stimulus Moves Fall Short of Market Expectations, Hammering Stocks (Dec.3, 2015)

The ECB has set the interest rate for banks to park money at the central bank at negative levels and is in the middle of buying hundreds of billions of euros of assets to boost prices. Yet inflation remains stubbornly low and has recently dipped into negative territory, pulled down by falling energy prices.

Mr. Villeroy de Galhau, who is a member of the ECB's governing council, said the brief period of negative inflation doesn't herald the arrival of a more long-lasting period of falling prices. Inflation should become positive again later this year with the stabilization of oil prices, he said.

But Mr. Villeroy de Galhau said the situation nevertheless warranted close attention by the central bank. "Falling oil prices can have more long-lasting effects, on the prices of other goods and services, as well as on the evolution of salaries," he said. "We are not in deflation, but we must avoid that expectations of future inflation don't become too pessimistic."

"Negative interest rates, which have provoked many questions, are of course not a goal in themselves," Mr. Villeroy de Galhau said, "and the Eurosystem has at its disposition a suite of other tools."

Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com

Credit: By Matthew Dalton

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769403826

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769403826?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Look Past Bearish Data to Notch Gain; Total U.S. crude inventories grew by 10.4 million barrels last week, the EIA says

Author: Berthelsen, Christian; Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude stocks grew by 10.4 million barrels last week, versus the 2.6-million-barrel expansion estimated by analysts in a Wall Street Journal poll.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

Oil prices gyrated sharply Wednesday but ultimately ended higher after weekly U.S. government data showed a big increase in domestic crude stockpiles, with waning space available to store swelling supplies.

The benchmark U.S. crude contract rose 0.8% to settle at $34.66 a barrel, and the global Brent benchmark rose 0.3% to $36.93 a barrel. It was the third straight gaining session for both contracts. U.S. prices fell as much as 2% immediately after the release of the U.S. data but quickly recovered and then wavered between gains and losses throughout the day.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude stocks grew by 10.4 million barrels last week, versus the 2.6-million-barrel expansion estimated by analysts in a Wall Street Journal poll. The data confirmed a larger-than-expected increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday, which said stockpiles grew by 9.9 million barrels.

As of last week, total U.S. crude inventories stood at 518 million barrels, a weekly high. Historical monthly data show inventories last surpassed 500 million barrels in 1930. And inventories at the key U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Okla., rose to 66.3 million barrels, 90% of the region's storage capacity.

But analysts and brokers said the market was looking past the immediate dire picture presented by the inventory report to focus on a hoped-for rebound as supply-and-demand fundamentals reach a nadir. Two other data points in the report reinforced bullish views: domestic U.S. production, which fell for the sixth consecutive week to 9.08 million barrels a day, and gasoline inventories, which suggested healthy demand with a 1.5-million barrel decline.

"The market seems willing to shrug off bearish developments and push the upside," said Robert Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA.

U.S. oil production has tapered gradually from a peak last year, but many shale producers remain resilient despite falling revenue as they have increased their efficiency. Production is now down from 9.7 million in April last year.

Oil prices have been supported in recent weeks by hopes that major suppliers would curtail their output in a bid to raise prices. Those hopes were reinforced Wednesday after Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia had reached out to banks to raise the possibility of arranging a loan for the country, a potential sign that continued low oil prices are weighing on its finances. Still, official selling prices released by the country Wednesday showed it was once again cutting prices for sales to the U.S., by 20 cents a barrel.

On Tuesday, prices rose to a two-month high Tuesday after Russia's energy minister said a "critical mass" of oil-producing countries--which together produce around 73% of the world's oil--had agreed to hold output at January's levels.

The pact, however, is conditional on the participation of other oil producers. Iran has confirmed that it won't join and will continue to pump until its production returns to about four million barrels a day.

"The last lows were hit in January; the price of oil is higher by over $7 a barrel--a very good accomplishment based on the fact that OPEC has not yet done anything to change their strategy," said Dominick Chirichella, an analyst at the Energy Management Institute

Market observers say capping production at January levels won't have any immediate impact on the supply glut because many countries were producing at high levels. Russia's January output reached record high of 10.88 million barrels.

But even if the agreement succeeds in raising prices in the short term, analysts say the flexibility of the U.S. shale industry would prevent a sustained rebound.

"The oil market has seemingly found its footing," said Seth Kleinman, analyst at Citi Research. But, he added, prices of over $40 a barrel "would prompt shale producers to reverse many of the production cuts that are supporting the rally."

Jenny W. Hsu contributed to this article.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com and Jenny W. Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen and Georgi Kantchev

Subject: Petroleum industry; Inventory; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: American Petroleum Institute; NAICS: 813910, 541820

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769403865

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769403865?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Rises on Talk of Output Agreement

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: C.4.

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Oil markets rose to a nearly two-month high as traders focused on the possibility of an output agreement among large producers.

Russia's energy minister said Tuesday that a "critical mass" of oil-producing countries had agreed to freeze oil production, state news agency TASS reported.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar announced last month that they were willing to freeze production at January levels. Other countries in Africa, Latin America and the Persian Gulf have expressed optimism about joining the deal. Russia and Venezuela last week said they are planning a broad meeting of producers in mid-March.

Light, sweet crude settled up 65 cents, or 1.9%, at $34.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 5.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose 24 cents, or 0.7%, to $36.81 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the highest level since Jan. 4.

Traders also are waiting for weekly U.S. inventory data due Wednesday. U.S. crude stockpiles are at their highest level in more than 80 years, and another inventory increase could weigh on prices.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday that its own data for that week showed a 9.9 million barrel increase in crude supplies, a 2.2 million barrel decrease in gasoline stocks and a 2.7 million barrel rise in distillate inventories, according to market participants. Prices fell in late trading on the news.

Global inventories of crude oil and refined products have climbed in recent months amid robust oil production.

U.S. production has declined from a peak in April 2015, but more slowly than some investors initially expected.

Companies have cut spending on new drilling but also increased the amount of crude they can pump at lower prices. Offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico also has increased as long-planned projects came online.

"The resilience of North American shale-oil production to low prices remains remarkable," said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodities research at Julius Baer, in a note. Still, Mr. Ruecker said he expects prices to rise in coming months, and "last year's slump in drilling activity finally leads to less supply."

Gasoline futures settled down 1.72 cents, or 1.3%, at $1.3035 a gallon. Diesel futures rose 0.58 cent, or 0.5%, to $1.0995 a gallon.

---

James Marson and Summer Said contributed to this article.

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Commodity prices; Crude oil

Location: United States--US

Classification: 8510: Petroleum industry; 9190: United States

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

column: Commodities Report

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769404459

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769404459?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Hedge Funds Turn Bullish on Oil Despite Glut; Prices have rebounded in recent weeks on hopes major producers will cut output

Author: Fletcher, Laurence; Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Several hedge funds are starting to bet that assets in the battered energy sector are through the worst of their dismal run.

Oil is down nearly 70% since June 2014 and analysts say there are few signs that the global oversupply of crude will abate anytime soon.

But some hedge-fund managers have recently started betting on rising oil prices or picking up the stocks or credit of battered energy firms, in the belief prices have dropped too far.

"We turned bullish on energy two weeks ago," said Gennaro Pucci, founder of hedge fund PVE Capital LLP, which invests in credit and oversees more than $1 billion in assets. He said he had previously been betting on falling prices.

Related Coverage

* Oil Prices Fall on Surge in U.S. Stockpiles

* 'Critical Mass' of Oil-Producing Countries Agree to Freeze Production (March 1)

* Investor Shift: Hate the Oil, Love the Big Oil Company (Nov. 17, 2015)

He added that he had bought the credit of firms including U.S. shale-oil producer Continental Resources, Inc. and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan, Inc. He pointed to "compelling valuations" and an oil price he believes will stabilize between $30 and $40. On Wednesday, Brent, the global price benchmark, was trading down 0.8% at 36.50 a barrel .

Pierre Andurand, one of the world's top energy traders, who made big profits by correctly calling the plunge in oil prices in late 2014 , said in his latest letter to investors, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, that he is "cautiously constructive on oil prices at the moment."

Mr. Andurand, who is founder of London-based hedge fund Andurand Capital Management LLP, had last autumn predicted that oil could go as low as $25 a barrel, but said in a recent investor letter that he expects oil to end the year higher as inventory levels stabilize. A spokesman for Andurand declined to comment. His fund was up 5.2% in January, having gained 4.1% last year and 38.1% the previous year.

Oil prices have rebounded in recent weeks from the decade-lows reached in January on hopes that major producers will cap their output. A persistent glut of crude has weighed on the market in the past two years, fueled by rising output from Saudi Arabia to Texas.

Overall, bullish bets on Brent taken by hedge funds and other money managers rose 12.4% during the past week to their highest since 2011, according to the Commitment of Traders report from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

Investors are less optimistic on West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil gauge, where the number of bets on higher prices has barely ticked up this year.

Meanwhile, the size of hedge fund bets on oil stocks rising rose 77% over the week to Feb. 18, the biggest gain in any sector, according a J.P. Morgan note to hedge funds clients reviewed by the Journal.

The bet on energy is controversial, market participants say. Hedge funds raised billions of dollars to invest in distressed oil and gas companies after the oil price began to fall in 2014, but many such as Brigade Capital Management LP and King Street Capital Management LP suffered losses as the bets proved too early.

Investors also bought into oil stocks late last year , hoping that moves to cut costs and spin off businesses signaled their share prices had bottomed, but the bet proved too early.

Few in the market believe that oil's rebound will be a smooth ride. Worries about global growth engulfed financial markets early this year , adding to concerns about oil's longer-term oversupply. Storage tanks around the world are brimming with oil and many traders are scrambling to chart ships to use as floating storage, leaving key ports like Rotterdam, Europe's busiest, congested with oil tankers .

"The consensus is that people are still pretty negative on oil in the near-term," said Robert Duggan, partner at SkyBridge Capital , which invests in hedge funds and manages $12.9 billion in assets. However, he added that betting against the oil price at such low levels had become "very hard" for hedge funds because of the potential for it suddenly to rise.

Investment banks have been busy slashing their outlook for oil and expect prices to recover more slowly than previously anticipated. Thirteen banks polled by The Wall Street Journal last week predicted that Brent would average $39 a barrel this year, while WTI would average $38 a barrel. Both forecasts are down $11 from a survey in January.

Still, many investors think this is the time to get back into the market.

"The cheapest point is now," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $125 billion in assets. He said that "the demand story is not one of a global recession" and said high seasonal demand should start in the spring as Americans use the cars they bought last year.

"We are currently underweight on energy but are looking for opportunities to pinch assets," he said.

London-based Ledbury Capital Partners has added to positions in stocks with large net cash positions such as Cairn Energy and Ophir Energy, said chief investment officer Michael Alsalem. "Energy companies are viewed as being all bad. People are throwing the baby out with the bathwater," he said.

Others are sticking with long-held bullish views.

Hedge-fund manager Jean-Louis Le Mee, whose firm Abydos Capital shut at the end of 2014 after he called the bottom of the market too early, is launching Westbrook Asset Management. The fund will bet on rising energy stocks and is aiming for a return of more than 100% over three years.

"In the second half of the year the market looks a lot less oversupplied than in the first half," he said, adding that he expects oil to reach $75-80 in the next two-to-three years.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

Credit: By Laurence Fletcher and Georgi Kantchev

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769616652

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769616652?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

World's Superrich Population Declines for First Time Since 2008; Number of individuals with at least $30 million in assets fell 3% in 2015, as collapse in oil prices takes its toll

Author: Patnaude, Art

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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The rise of the superrich over recent years has been a boon for real-estate markets, which have become a popular destination for investment. Since 2009, a quarter of global commercial property investment came from ultra-high-net-worth individuals , the Knight Frank report said.

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The ranks of the global superrich shrank last year for the first time since 2008, a fresh signal that slower economic growth, stock market shocks and weak commodity prices have taken their toll.

The number of individuals with $30 million or more in assets fell 3% in 2015 to about 187,000, according to a report from real-estate broker Knight Frank.

The dip follows years of surging private wealth, with the global population of high-net-worth individuals growing 61% in the last 10 years, according to data in the report from New World Wealth.

Stock market losses were a big driver of depreciating wealth, the report said. A collapse in oil prices hit the super wealthy in the Mideast and Africa, while currency fluctuations also played a role.

Brazil saw a 12% drop in ultrahigh net worth individuals, the data show. In Saudi Arabia, the population of these individuals dropped 8%, Russia 5%, the U.S. 2% and China 1%.

However the retreat is expected to be temporary. The number of superrich will rise 41% by 2025, although "the pace will be significantly slower than the previous 10 years," the report said.

"Private wealth investors have become far more sophisticated and considered, and are not just hunting for trophy assets," a Knight Frank statement said. "They view commercial property as tangible, controllable, not subject to daily pricing and giving real performance relative to other asset classes."

Last year, the superrich pumped $178 billion into real estate. Hotels were the most popular investment. North America had the highest concentration of private investment. "The increase of inbound capital from Chinese and Middle Eastern investors has been a noticeable, contributing factor," Knight Frank said.

North America has the highest number of ultrawealthy individuals with around 69,300, followed by Europe with 46,200 and Asia with 41,100.

However, over the next decade, the balance is expected to shift, with Asia moving into second place.

Write to Art Patnaude at art.patnaude@wsj.com

Credit: By Art Patnaude

Subject: Investments; Statistical data; Securities markets; Wealth management

Location: Brazil Russia Africa China United States--US North America Saudi Arabia

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: World

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769713742

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769713742?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Exxon Reaffirms Plans to Cut 2016 Capital Spending; Oil giant plans capital expenditures of roughly $23 billion this year

Author: Stynes, Tess

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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In prepared remarks Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Chairman and Chief Executive Rex W. Tillerson said, "We have the financial flexibility to pursue attractive opportunities and can adjust our investment program based on market demand fundamentals."

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Exxon Mobil Corp. reaffirmed plans to cut capital spending 25% this year, as the oil giant met with analysts Wednesday in New York.

The company's annual analyst meeting comes a month after Exxon Mobil posted its weakest annual results in more than a decade , making it one of several global oil giants to get smacked by a prolonged commodities rout. Exxon's annual earnings were cut in half to $16.2 billion, forcing the Irving, Texas, company to put its share-buyback plan on hold to preserve cash.

Exxon Mobil on Wednesday reiterated that it plans capital expenditures of roughly $23 billion this year, down from a reduced $31.1 billion in 2015 . About a year ago, Exxon had projected its 2015 capital spending budget at $34 billion, a decline of 12% from 2014, but reined in spending as the year progressed.

The comment comes two days after Exxon Mobil on Monday sold $12 billion of new bonds , one of the biggest corporate-debt deals of the year and a sign investors remain willing to lend to higher-quality companies. However Exxon Mobil's borrowing costs relative to market benchmarks have risen since it sold bonds last year.

Exxon Mobil also said it is on track to start up 10 exploration-and-production projects in 2016 and 2017, and that the company is advancing several projects in other business segments.

The company also noted that its reduced its capital and operating costs by a net $12 billion last year, including a 9% decrease in unit costs in its exploration-and-production business.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

Credit: By Tess Stynes

Subject: Petroleum industry; Capital expenditures; Financial performance

Location: Texas New York

People: Tillerson, Rex W

Company / organization: Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769713961

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769713961?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Why Big U.S. Banks Can Ride Out the Oil Bust; The biggest U.S. banks can weather even severe defaults by oil companies

Author: Back, Aaron

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Consider that energy-sector exposures at the big four U.S. banks--J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup--range from roughly 1.5% to 3.5% of their total loan books, according to the banks' recent annual filings and other disclosures.

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The energy meltdown has taken bank stocks hostage. Investors should cut them free.

Fear that oil's crash will spawn losses that blow holes in big-bank balance sheets are somewhat understandable. It is tough to gauge exactly how exposed banks may be if oil-related firms start going belly up, and the information available isn't initially comforting.

This mainly refers to lines of credit extended to clients that haven't been tapped. Including these, total exposure is more than 2.5 times as large, or $186 billion in aggregate, for the big four.

Fortunately for bank investors, this doesn't have to be such a big problem, especially considering the big banks' strengthened capital positions.

Oil companies facing lean times have every incentive to draw on credit lines before resorting to more drastic measures like restructuring their debt. However, borrowers can't use up these loans automatically.

Credit-line agreements typically come with covenants that allow banks to cut off a client in some kind of distress. What's more, credit lines to the energy sector are regularly reappraised against collateral, which mainly consists of oil reserves in the ground.

Not that banks are immune to drawdowns: At J.P. Morgan's investor day last week, finance chief Marianne Lake said the bank's downside scenario for energy--oil prices of around $25 a barrel for 18 months, resulting in an extra $1.5 billion of provisions--assumes a "quite dramatic draw down" of credit lines .

Even then, though, investors shouldn't be quick to panic. During the oil-price bust of the 1980s, bank write-offs peaked at about 10% to 15% of loans to companies in exploration and production as well as oil-field services. Integrated majors, which make up a sizable part of big banks' loans books, have better staying power.

Assume then, that today's energy bust is just as bad as in the 1980s, but across the entire lending portfolio--an overly harsh scenario. Assume also that outstanding credit lines are fully tapped--also unlikely. Still, potential losses look painful but manageable. As a percentage of Tier 1 common equity, they would range from 3.6% at J.P. Morgan to 5.9% at Citigroup.

And that would be in a worst-case scenario. The reality is likely to be far less onerous. Of course, banks could help themselves by providing more information than they do now about unfunded commitments and how likely they are to be drawn.

As well, any hits or additional reserve build up will come at a time when bank earnings are already under extreme pressure from continued superlow interest rates--a far bigger problem than oil . But with big banks in many cases trading well below book value, share prices are assuming too dire an outcome.

Write to Aaron Back at aaron.back@wsj.com

Credit: By Aaron Back

Subject: Banking industry; Loans; Bank earnings; Lines of credit; Energy industry

People: Lake, Marianne

Company / organization: Name: Citigroup Inc; NAICS: 551111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

column: Heard on the Street

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769750675

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769750675?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Nigerian Communities Can Sue Royal Dutch Shell Over Oil Spills, U.K. Court Says; The suits are the latest international litigation to face Shell for environmental damage stemming from its Nigerian operations

Author: Kent, Sarah

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Abstract: None available.

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LONDON--Two Nigerian communities can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Nigerian unit in the U.K. over oil spills in the West African country, a London court ruled Wednesday, testing whether energy companies can be held liable in their home country for events elsewhere.

The lawsuits, filed with the London High Court, are the latest international litigation to face Shell for environmental damage stemming from its Nigerian operations. The Anglo-Dutch company reached a £55 million ($77.4 million) settlement in a similar U.K. lawsuit brought by the Niger Delta-based Bodo community in January 2015. It also is being sued in the Netherlands in a separate case over Nigerian oil spills.

The firm's local subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, or SPDC, has been plagued by frequent spills that environmental groups and nongovernmental organizations say have destroyed Niger Delta fishing grounds and polluted water systems. According to figures published by Shell, oil spills from its operations in Nigeria amounted to around 48,000 tons between 2008 and 2014.

Shell says the spills are primarily caused by oil thieves who sabotage pipelines. The company says it cleans up any environmental damage regardless of the cause.

A spokesperson for SPDC said in an email Wednesday that the cases should be tried in Nigeria and that it would challenge the jurisdiction of English courts.

"We believe that allegations concerning Nigerian plaintiffs in dispute with a Nigerian company, over issues which took place within Nigeria, should be heard in Nigeria," the email said.

The communities' lawyers said they are suing in the U.K. because the oil spills have persisted for decades in Nigeria without being addressed.

"The Nigerian courts can't deal with these cases," said Daniel Leader, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the communities. "This would clearly be a very important precedent because it would mean that Shell could be held to account, not only in Nigeria, but also in the jurisdiction of the parent company for its environmental record."

This isn't the first time African communities have looked to international courts in environmental cases. In the Netherlands, a Dutch appeals court ruled in December that four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth Netherlands could sue Shell there in relation to separate oil spills.

Shell has operated in Nigeria for nearly 80 years and SPDC produces around 39% of Nigeria's oil, pumping it through a web of pipelines in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The new cases against Shell in London relate to the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta.

The Ogale community alleges that it has been subject to repeated oil spills since at least 1989 that have destroyed farming and fishing in the area and left the community without clean drinking water. The community is located in an area known as Ogoniland where Shell was forced to abandon production in 1993 because of community protests, but a 2011 UN investigation found the area remained seriously polluted.

"We hope at last this case will force Shell clean up," Ogale's ruler Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi said in a press release issued by Leigh Day.

In Bille, the community's lawyers say oil leaks from a Shell pipeline have damaged thousands of hectares of mangrove and destroyed the fishing grounds they rely on for their livelihood.

The SPDC statement Wednesday said both Bille and Ogale are in areas heavily affected by oil theft and pipeline sabotage and that its access to Ogale has been limited by violence and threats to staff in the area. The company said it is also working with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to address the recommendations made in the 2011 UN report.

Idris Musa, the director for oil field assessment at Nigeria's National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, declined to comment on the case.

A spokesman for Nigeria's state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. wasn't immediately able to comment.

Benoit Faucon contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com

Credit: By Sarah Kent

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769823047

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769823047?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Bust Forces West Texas to Adjust; Small businesses cut costs, lower prices as energy downturn grinds on

Author: Simon, Ruth

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]02 Mar 2016: n/a.

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According to small business loan tracker PayNet Inc., about 2.2% of small business loans in the area are between 31 and 180 days past due compared with 1.2% in July 2014, near the oil market's peak.

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As oil and gas producers slash production around Texas, small-business owners like Clint Fletcher are suffering the consequences.

Mr. Fletcher, who owns stakes in nearly two-dozen businesses in the Midland area, has shut down 85% of his oil and gas wells and has had to mothball his oil-field equipment rental business, retaining two employees to repair and test the idle equipment.

His business transporting water from oil field production, however, is holding its own. That is better than a number of competitors who have shut their doors in the last 45 days. "In 2015, people could still live and operate because you were living off 2014 receivables," he said. "In 2016, you just can't make it."

Falling energy prices are deepening the pain felt in Midland and nearby Odessa, the two biggest cities in the oil-rich Permian Basin region of West Texas. There is downward pressure on wages as job applicants swell, while prices of everything from hotel rooms to tacos fall and late payments on small business loans increase.

After a 50% drop in oil prices in the second half of 2014, Wesley Webb's catering business dried up. From serving three meals a day to crews on as many as 50 drilling rigs and fracking sites in 2014, he suddenly had only two or three catering jobs a week in early 2015. "It was like someone had turned the lights out," Mr. Webb said.

At least 65% of economic activity in Midland, a city of about 140,000, is directly tied to the energy industry, according to Karr Ingham, the consulting petroleum economist for trade group Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.

Retail sales in Midland and Odessa dropped 19% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, he estimates, while hotel receipts fell 27% in the same time period. Unemployment rates in the Midland-Odessa area have been creeping up, according to his data, reaching 4.1% on average in the fourth quarter, up from 2.6% a year earlier.

* In West Texas, Oil Drillers Keep Pumping

* U.S. Shale Producers Face Reality, Cut Output

* Why Oil Producers Will Be Over a Barrel for a Long Time Yet

Midland "just lives and dies by crude oil prices," Mr. Ingram said, noting that growth was "stratospheric" during the recent energy boom.

Even as delinquencies remain flat nationally, they are starting to rise among the city's small businesses and those in the surrounding Permian Basin. According to small business loan tracker PayNet Inc., about 2.2% of small business loans in the area are between 31 and 180 days past due compared with 1.2% in July 2014, near the oil market's peak. Nationally, the level is about 1.5%.

Delinquency rates on construction loans in Midland and the surrounding area have climbed to 4.3% from 2.6%. Real-estate agents, auto repair shops, restaurants and other businesses are also having more trouble paying their bills, PayNet says.

"It's like a spreading contagion," said PayNet President William Phelan. "It is infecting the general Texas economy."

Midland Mayor Jerry Morales is trying to remain optimistic, hoping efforts to lure aerospace companies and more retail, dining and entertainment to this city will help buffer the slowdown in energy wealth.

Mr. Morales, who owns three restaurants in town, including one that opened last month, is feeling the effects. He says customers are less free-spending than they were when oil prices were high. So he has reintroduced daily specials, such as a $6.99 taco plate, normally $10.

He is being inundated with job seekers, now receiving 30 applications a month compared with about 25 in all of 2014. He has dropped starting pay to $11 an hour, from $15 two years ago and is staying open longer, after cutting back during the oil boom to hold down overtime costs.

"We have been through this before and have always come out of it," said Mr. Morales.

Hotel owners also have cut prices, which during weekdays had climbed in some cases to $300 or more a night. At the DoubleTree by Hilton Midland Plaza, revenue is down 35% from last year, said Keith Dial, operating partner of the 262-room hotel. Mr. Dial recently offered to lower negotiated rates by between $20 and $40 a night for his best corporate customers.

Stephen Jumper, chief executive of Dawson Geophysical Co., a publicly traded oil-field services company, negotiated an $85 a night weekend rate for guests at one Midland hotel for his son's January wedding, below the $150 rate guests paid when another son married two years ago.

Businesses in Midland and neighboring towns are used to the price swings of oil and it can present opportunities for those that survive.

RK Pump and Supply, which sets up storefronts near active oil fields that sell piping, valves and other supplies, has stepped up marketing in an effort to boost market share, according to co-owner Lance Daniels. It is negotiating to buy several smaller competitors.

"Our company is staying aggressive," said Mr. Daniels. "We are trying to build these relationships as a lot of our big competitors get lax."

Meanwhile, Mr. Webb had to figure out a way to keep his catering business afloat after business came to a halt. More than a year ago, he took a stockpile of eggs, bacon and sausage nearing expiration and launched a special on breakfast burritos. He now serves as many as 2,000 breakfast burritos a week to supplement the catering business. Mr. Webb also turned his commercial kitchen into a barbecue restaurant.

"We have seen it go from really good to really bad to pretty good," Mr. Webb said.

Credit: By Ruth Simon

Subject: Small business loans; Petroleum industry; Hotels & motels; Crude oil prices; Energy industry

Location: Permian Basin West Texas

Company / organization: Name: PayNet Inc; NAICS: 561450; Name: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers; NAICS: 813910

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 2, 2016

Section: Page One

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769887497

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769887497?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Gain on Falling U.S. Production; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.16 to $37.09 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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[...]the market shrugged off the bigger-than-expected growth and honed in on the decline in production, which fell for the sixth week to 9.08 million barrels a day, and the drawdown in gasoline stocks, which fell by 1.5 million barrels, suggesting healthy demand.

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Crude-oil prices rose in early Asian trade Thursday as a decline in U.S. production prompts more risk-taking in the market.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $34.84 a barrel at 0200 GMT, up $0.18 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.16 to $37.09 a barrel.

The U.S. Energy Administration on Wednesday reported the country's crude inventories in the week ended Feb. 29 grew 10.4 million barrels, sending total stockpiles to a weekly high of 518 million barrels. Historical monthly data show inventories last surpassed 500 million barrels in 1930.

Analysts say the growth in crude stocks was mainly driven by stronger imports as refining margins remains robust given crude prices are still almost 70% lower from mid-2014 levels.

However, the market shrugged off the bigger-than-expected growth and honed in on the decline in production, which fell for the sixth week to 9.08 million barrels a day, and the drawdown in gasoline stocks, which fell by 1.5 million barrels, suggesting healthy demand.

"The message is clear, risk is on, traders are betting on a light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the global economy and hope that oil producers will somehow enforce the production freeze," said Stuart Ive, a client manager at OM Financial.

Oil prices have been battered in the past 20 months. But tide has gradually turned recently, mostly buoyed by rising expectation of a production adjustment after the Russian energy minister said a "critical mass" of oil producing countries are on board to hold productions at January levels.

A meeting is planned later this month in which producers will discuss the details of the proposed action. Nymex and Brent were last trading up 5% and 3.5% respectively so far this week.

"Remember, the fundamentals have not changed at all because the world is still very much oversupplied. The market is mostly reacting to information and not actual changes," said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at SCI International.

The renewed optimism in the market, however, is strengthening the argument that "the bottom in the crude oil market could now be in place for 2016," said ANZ Research.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 2 points to $1.3109 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.1129, 64 points higher.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $328.00 a metric ton, down $3.50 from Wednesday's settlement.

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Petroleum industry; Inventory; Crude oil prices; Price increases

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769838750

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769838750?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Most Stock Markets in Asia Rise, Hong Kong Is Standout; Rising oil prices and signs of an improving U.S. economy appear to help sentiment

Author: Fong, Dominique

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Most Asian stock markets extended weekly gains Thursday as rising oil prices and signs of an improving U.S. economy appeared to restore investor confidence.

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Most Asian stock markets extended weekly gains Thursday as rising oil prices and signs of an improving U.S. economy appeared to restore investor confidence.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the day 1.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.2% higher and Korea's Kospi rose 0.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, however, closed 0.3% lower.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index eked out a 0.4% gain to close at 2859.76 as investors waited for the start of the National People's Congress, an annual legislative session that begins on Saturday. Policy makers there are expected to map out plans to stimulate the slowing economy.

"Right now most investors in China are just 'wait and see,'" said Castor Pang, head of research at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International, a brokerage in Hong Kong. They're waiting "to see whether there is any surprise from the NPC announcement."

Chinese shares pared gains briefly in the morning on renewed concerns about an impending squeeze of the market's money supply. Gui Minjie, chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, said Thursday that "preparation work is running smoothly" to launch a registration-based system for new share sales. Such a system would soak up money available for buying and selling shares of existing listings.

Chinese investors were also betting that property companies would be the beneficiaries of housing-stimulus policies that are expected to be unveiled at the National People's Congress. Jinke Property Group Co. rose 1% and Cinda Real Estate Co. was up 1.2%.

Hints that the U.S. economy is improving have helped ease investor worries about slowing global economic growth. The U.S. Federal Reserve's "beige book" report on Wednesday showed economic activity in most areas of the U.S. grew in recent months , while a private jobs gauge suggested employment rose in February.

Stocks in Asia were also extending gains as Brent crude prices hovered at about $37 per barrel in Asian trading hours. The oil-price rebound in recent weeks had helped fuel a second straight day of gains in the S&P 500.

In Hong Kong, shares sank after data in the morning showed manufacturing activity contracted in February due in amid a slump in tourist arrivals and weaker global economic growth. Losses across most sectors offset gains in energy shares.

In other markets, the Korean won strengthened to 1,214 per U.S. dollar after data showed that consumer-price inflation rose 1.3% in February from a year earlier, which was more than economists expected.

The Australian dollar traded at its highest level so far this year at an intraday peak of US$0.7321 after data showed the nation's trade deficit narrowed more than expected.

Yifan Xie and James Glynn contributed to this article.

Write to Dominique Fong at Dominique.Fong@wsj.com

Credit: By Dominique Fong

Subject: Stock exchanges; Energy economics; Investments; Economic growth

Location: Australia Japan United States--US China Hong Kong

Company / organization: Name: Congress; NAICS: 921120; Name: Shanghai Stock Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769840759

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769840759?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Business News: Exxon Backs '16 Spending Decrease

Author: Stynes, Tess

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: B.2.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. reaffirmed plans to cut capital spending 25% this year, as the oil giant met with analysts Wednesday in New York.

The company's annual analyst meeting comes a month after Exxon Mobil posted its weakest annual results in more than a decade, making it one of several global oil giants to get smacked by a prolonged commodities rout. Exxon's annual earnings were cut in half to $16.2 billion, forcing the Irving, Texas, company to put its share-buyback plan on hold to preserve cash.

Exxon Mobil on Wednesday reiterated that it plans capital expenditures of roughly $23 billion this year, down from a reduced $31.1 billion in 2015. About a year ago, Exxon had projected its 2015 capital spending budget at $34 billion, a decline of 12% from 2014, but reined in spending as the year progressed.

The comment comes two days after Exxon Mobil sold $12 billion of new bonds, one of the biggest corporate-debt deals of the year and a sign investors remain willing to lend to higher-quality companies.

Credit: By Tess Stynes

Subject: Petroleum industry; Capital expenditures; Financial performance

Company / organization: Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111

Classification: 9190: United States; 8510: Petroleum industry; 3100: Capital & debt management

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: B.2

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769886621

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769886621?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

In Oil Country, Small Owners Feel Price Pinch --- Falling energy prices deepen the pain felt in Texas towns that rely on oil and gas business

Author: Simon, Ruth

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: B.4.

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According to small business loan tracker PayNet Inc., about 2.2% of small business loans in the area are between 31 and 180 days past due compared with 1.2% in July 2014, near the oil market's peak. RK Pump and Supply, which sets up storefronts near active oil fields that sell piping, valves and other supplies, has stepped up marketing in an effort to boost market share, according to co-owner Lance Daniels.

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As oil and gas producers slash production around Texas, small-business owners like Clint Fletcher are suffering the consequences.

Midland "just lives and dies by crude oil prices," Mr. Ingram said, noting that growth was "stratospheric" during the recent energy boom.

"It's like a spreading contagion," said PayNet President William Phelan. "It is infecting the general Texas economy."

Midland Mayor Jerry Morales is trying to remain optimistic, hoping efforts to lure aerospace companies and more retail, dining and entertainment to this city will help buffer the slowdown.

"We have been through this before and have always come out of it," said Mr. Morales.

Businesses in Midland and neighboring towns are used to the price swings of oil and it can present opportunities for those that survive.

"Our company is staying aggressive," said Mr. Daniels. "We are trying to build these relationships as a lot of our big competitors get lax."

Meanwhile, Mr. Webb had to figure out a way to keep his catering business afloat after business came to a halt. More than a year ago, he took a stockpile of eggs, bacon and sausage nearing expiration and launched a special on breakfast burritos. He now serves as many as 2,000 breakfast burritos a week and turned his commercial kitchen into a barbecue restaurant. "We have seen it go from really good to really bad to pretty good," Mr. Webb said.

Credit: By Ruth Simon

Subject: Small business loans; Hotels & motels; Energy industry; Economic impact; Petroleum industry; Crude oil prices; Small business

Location: Permian Basin West Texas Texas

Company / organization: Name: PayNet Inc; NAICS: 561450; Name: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers; NAICS: 813910

Classification: 9190: United States; 8510: Petroleum industry; 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance; 1110: Economic conditions & forecasts

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: B.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Small Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769886636

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769886636?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Some Funds Turning Bullish on Energy --- Despite global oil glut, some managers bet on rising prices or buy battered stocks

Author: Fletcher, Laurence; Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: C.4.

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Overall, bullish bets on Brent made by hedge funds and other money managers rose 12.4% during the past week to their highest since such records began in 2011, according to the Commitment of Traders report from Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Investors are less optimistic on the U.S.'s WTI oil benchmark, in which the number of bets on higher prices has barely ticked up this year.

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Several hedge funds are starting to bet that assets in the battered energy sector are through the worst of their dismal run.

Oil is down nearly 70% since June 2014, and analysts say there are few signs that the global oversupply of crude will abate soon.

But some hedge-fund managers have recently started betting on rising oil prices, or picking up the stocks or credit of battered energy companies in the belief that prices have dropped too far.

Mr. Pucci said he had bought the credit of companies including U.S. shale-oil producer Continental Resources Inc. and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc. He pointed to "compelling valuations" and an oil price he believes will stabilize at between $30 and $40 a barrel.

On Wednesday, Brent crude, the global benchmark, edged up 0.3% to $36.93 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. gauge, rose 0.8% to $34.66 a barrel.

Pierre Andurand, one of the world's top energy traders who made big profits by correctly calling the plunge in oil prices in late 2014, said in his latest letter to investors, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, that he is "cautiously constructive on oil prices at the moment."

Mr. Andurand, founder of London-based hedge fund Andurand Capital Management LLP, had predicted last fall that oil could go as low as $25 a barrel, but said in a recent investor letter that he expects oil to end the year higher as inventory levels stabilize. A spokesman for Andurand declined to comment.

Investors are less optimistic on the U.S.'s WTI oil benchmark, in which the number of bets on higher prices has barely ticked up this year.

Meanwhile,the size of hedge-fund bets on oil stocks rising increased 77% over the week ended Feb. 18,the biggest gain in any sector, according a J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. note to hedge-fund clients.

The bet on energy is far from a sure thing, market participants say. Hedge funds raised billions of dollars to invest in distressed oil-and-gas companies after the oil price began to fall in 2014, but many sustained losses as the bets proved too early. Investors also bought into oil stocks late last year, hoping that moves to cut costs and spin off businesses signaled their share prices had bottomed, but that bet also proved too early.

Few in the market believe oil's rebound will be a smooth ride. Worries about global growth engulfed financial markets early this year, adding to concerns about oil's longer-term oversupply. Storage tanks around the world are brimming with oil, and many traders scrambling to charter ships to use as floating storage, leaving key ports such as Rotterdam, Europe's busiest, congested with oil tankers.

"The consensus is that people are still pretty negative on oil in the near term," said Robert Duggan, partner at SkyBridge Capital, which invests in hedge funds and manages $12.9 billion in assets. However, he said that betting against the oil price at such low levels had become hard for hedge funds because of the potential for it suddenly to rise.

Investment banks have been cutting their outlooks for oil and expect prices to recover more slowly than previously anticipated. Thirteen banks polled by the Journal last week predicted Brent would average $39 a barrel this year, while West Texas Intermediate would average $38 a barrel. Both forecasts are down $11 from a survey in January.

Still, many investors think this is the time to get back into the market.

"The cheapest point is now," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $125 billion in assets. He said "the demand story is not one of a global recession" and said high seasonal demand should start in the spring as Americans take to the roads in earnest.

Ledbury Capital Partners has added to positions in stocks with large net cash positions such as Cairn Energy and Ophir Energy, said Chief Investment Officer Michael Alsalem. "Energy companies are viewed as being all bad. People are throwing the baby out with the bath water," he said.

Credit: By Laurence Fletcher and Georgi Kantchev

Subject: Crude oil; Commodity prices

Classification: 9190: United States; 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

column: Commodities

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769886708

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769886708?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Rising Oil Prices Push Up Stocks

Author: Vaishampayan, Saumya

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: C.4.

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Data showing continued strength in the labor market attracted attention Wednesday, especially as investors search for clues about when the Federal Reserve will make its next interest-rate increase.

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U.S. stocks rose slightly, as higher oil prices fueled a rally in energy shares.

Stocks have rebounded since mid-February, as investors reassessed the health of the U.S. economy and a bounce in oil prices alleviated pressures on junk bonds and commodity-sensitive companies.

What isn't clear is whether the stock-market recovery will turn into a sustained move higher.

Underscoring the uncertainty, much of the rally has been driven by short-term investors covering bearish bets rather than by longer-term asset managers stepping in and buying stocks, traders say.

"The overall sentiment on this bounce seems very weak," said Nathan Thooft, head of asset allocation at John Hancock Asset Management, adding that he doesn't expect stocks to advance much further. While investors had been eager to snap up stocks after pullbacks in recent years, that has changed in recent months, Mr. Thooft said.

"The market has moved from a 'buy the dip' mentality. . .to more of a 'sell the bounce' mentality," he said.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34.24 points, or 0.2%, to 16899.32. The S&P 500 rose 8.10, or 0.4%, to 1986.45 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.83, or 0.3%, to 4703.42.

U.S. crude-oil prices gyrated after data showed a surge in domestic crude stockpiles, settling 0.8% higher at $34.66 a barrel. Energy shares rose the most in the S&P 500, up 2.5%.

"You can't hide economic activity from transport stocks," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "If you're making goods and services, you have to get them somewhere."

The Labor Department's February jobs report, set for release Friday, is forecast to show that employers added 200,000 jobs last month.

In Asia/Pacific trading early Thursday, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.6% at lunchtime, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.9%, Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 0.8%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.7%.

Trading in haven assets was mixed. Treasury prices slipped, pushing the 10-year yield up to 1.848%, from 1.835% on Tuesday. The dollar fell 0.5% against the yen to 113.48 yen. Gold rose 0.9% to $1,241.10 an ounce.

In corporate news, Abercrombie & Fitch reported its first same-store sales gain in over three years as its quarterly profit soared 33%. Shares rose $1.27, or 4.4%, to $30.41.

---

Riva Gold contributed to this article.

Credit: By Saumya Vaishampayan

Subject: Dow Jones averages; Stock prices; Daily markets (wsj)

Classification: 9190: United States; 3400: Investment analysis & personal finance

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: C.4

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

column: Wednesday's Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769886940

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769886940?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Genel Turns In $1 Billion Loss After Tony Hayward's Oil Firm Cuts Reserves; U.K.-listed oil company warned of lower revenue this year despite rising output

Author: Williams, Selina; MacDonald, Alex

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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LONDON--Genel Energy PLC, the oil company chaired by former BP PLC Chief Executive Tony Hayward, reported its worst loss since listing its shares more than four years ago in writing down the value of its prized Taq Taq oil field whose reserves have proved lower than expected.

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LONDON--Oil explorer Genel Energy PLC reported a loss of $1.16 billion for 2015 after it wrote down the value of a prized Kurdistan oil field where reserves proved lower than expected and worth less amid lower oil prices.

Genel also said it was in talks to sell part of its stake in a $5.5 billion project to produce and export natural gas from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey, helping to push its shares 14% higher to 88.25 pence in London Thursday. The company's shares fell more than 40% on Monday after the oil explorer announced the $1 billion write down on its Taq Taq oil field in Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

The reserves downgrade on Monday marked the latest setback for Chairman Tony Hayward, who remains Genel's dominant force despite stepping down as CEO last year. Mr. Hayward left the helm of BP PLC in 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chief Executive Murat Özgül said on Thursday that Genel was in discussions with a Turkish state-backed entity on the sale of as much as 50% of the Miran and Bina Bawi gas fields and up to 90% of the gas processing facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan and hoped to reach an agreement in the second half of this year.

"We are prioritizing the Turkish company because the customer [of the gas] is the Turkish government and the project is of strategic importance to them as they seek to diversify their energy sources," he said in an interview.

Mr. Özgül declined to name the Turkish or the international companies that Genel is talking to.

The U.K.-listed oil company, once an investor favorite for its promises of growth from a portfolio of oil prospects from Angola to Kurdistan, warned that revenue would fall this year on lower output while it seeks delayed payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government for oil exports.

Genel's net loss for 2015 widened to $1.16 billion, compared with a net loss of $314 million in the previous year. Revenue fell 34% to $344 million. The impact of lower oil prices, which plummeted last year, more than offset a 22% increase in Genel's oil output to 84,900 barrels a day.

Looking ahead, Genel confirmed its plans to produce between 60,000 to 70,000 barrels of oil a day and generate $200 million to $275 million in revenue this year, assuming a $45 a barrel Brent oil price. This would drop to $160 million to $220 million, assuming a $35 a barrel Brent oil price.

The company also reaffirmed its plan to spend between $80 million and $120 million on its Kurdistan fields this year as the regional government committed to making predictable monthly oil export payments. This will be supplemented with additional monthly payments aimed at reducing the amount the government owes for delayed payments on oil exports, which is currently around $405 million.

The Kurdish regional government resumed oil payments in the second half of last year but is still in arrears as its struggles to pay its soldiers, who are fighting off Islamic State militants.

Write to Selina Williams at selina.williams@wsj.com and Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com

Credit: By Selina Williams and Alex MacDonald

Subject: Net losses; Oil reserves; Petroleum industry; Oil fields; Crude oil prices

Location: Angola United Kingdom--UK

Company / organization: Name: Genel Energy PLC; NAICS: 211111; Name: BP PLC; NAICS: 447110, 324110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769889601

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769889601?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices End Rally on Increased Stockpiles; U.S. crude production continued to ease, but low demand meant inventories increased

Author: Berthelsen, Christian; Kantchev, Georgi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Oil prices have gained more than 30% since hitting a nadir in mid-February, but remain down nearly 70% from their recent peak in June 2014 thanks to a mushrooming global supply glut amid robust U.S. output and a decision by foreign state producers to keep output high rather than cutting back and conceding market share.

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Oil prices edged lower Thursday, ending a three-day rally, as the market took stock of mounting U.S. inventories.

The benchmark U.S. crude contract fell 9 cents or 0.3% to $34.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after a 5.7% gain over the first three trading sessions of the week. The global Brent contract settled up 0.4% at $37.07 a barrel on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange. The markets toggled around the break-even point for much of the trading session Thursday.

U.S. output has now been falling for six consecutive weeks, to below 9.1 million barrels a day from a peak of 9.7 million last April. Crude oil inventories, however, have been on the rise, with last week's increase being much larger than expected. This has led to crude storage space in the U.S. quickly filling up, with the key U.S. hub at Cushing, Okla. near 90% of available capacity.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported the country's crude inventories last week grew 10.4 million barrels, sending total stockpiles to a weekly high of 518 million barrels. Historical monthly data show inventories last surpassed 500 million barrels in 1930. With the U.S. refinery maintenance season fast approaching, analysts say that crude inventories will rise further. However, U.S. crude oil production fell for the sixth week to 9.08 million barrels a day.

Analysts said investors have been looking past the bearish data to focus on the continued decline in production, as an indicator that supply-and-demand balances are starting to improve.

The oil market "remains surprisingly well supported off of continued bullish sentiment rather than any particular shift in the fundamentals," research consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.

Hopes for production cuts among major state producers have also supported the market since Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC members announced last month they will seek to clinch a deal to freeze output at January levels.

The Russian energy minister said this week that a "critical mass" of oil producing countries are on board . Iran, however, has been a critical holdout so far , as the country seeks to increase its production after years of international sanctions.

The renewed optimism in the market, however, is strengthening the argument that "the bottom in the crude oil market could now be in place for 2016," said ANZ Research.

In refined product markets, gasoline futures ended down 0.9% at $1.2988 a gallon while diesel futures rose 1.24% at $1.1202 a gallon.

Write to Christian Berthelsen at christian.berthelsen@wsj.com and Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen and Georgi Kantchev

Subject: Crude oil; Petroleum industry; Inventory; Futures; Crude oil prices; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries--OPEC; NAICS: 813910; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769897577

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769897577?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Canadian Natural Profit Drops 89%; Company Cuts Spending; Falling commodity prices hurt oil and gas producer

Author: McKinnon, Judy

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Oil and gas producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported an 89% decline in its fourth-quarter profit and slashed planned spending for this year amid tumbling commodity prices.

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Oil and gas producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported an 89% decline in its fourth-quarter profit and slashed planned spending for this year amid tumbling commodity prices.

Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Natural, which cut its capital-spending budget multiple times throughout 2015, said Thursday that it plans to spend 3.5 billion Canadian dollars ($2.6 billion) to C$3.9 billion this year. That is down about 22% from guidance given in November.

Canadian Natural, like its fellow operators in the oil patch, faced stiff headwinds from the significant decline in oil and gas prices. In its latest quarter, the company said West Texas Intermediate benchmark oil prices fell 42% from a year earlier, to $42.17 a barrel, and were down 9% from the previous quarter.

The big oil-sands producer said it earned C$131 million, or 12 Canadian cents a share, in its latest quarter, down from C$1.2 billion, or C$1.09 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted to exclude items, it recorded a loss of 4 Canadian cents a share, which was in line with the loss projected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Cash flow fell 42%, and sales were down 39%.

Canadian Natural, which late last year sold the bulk of its royalty land assets in Western Canada to PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. for C$1.8 billion, said production in 2015 rose 8% to a record 851,901 barrels of oil equivalent a day. The increase came despite an 80% decline in its 2015 drilling programs, helped in part by strategic acquisitions and productivity enhancements. Production in 2016 is expected to fall about 2% from prior-year levels, it said.

The company said it has earmarked the bulk of its planned spending budget this year, or around C$2 billion, to complete its Horizon oil-sands project expansion project. It said startup of the second phase of Horizon is expected within seven months.

Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com

Credit: By Judy McKinnon

Subject: Petroleum industry; Losses; Oil sands

Location: Calgary Alberta Canada

Company / organization: Name: Thomson Reuters; NAICS: 511110, 511140; Name: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd; NAICS: 211111, 213112; Name: PrairieSky Royalty Ltd; NAICS: 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1769993392

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1769993392?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

British Oil Producers Need a Budget Boost; The government now has another chance to help a vital industry hit by falling prices and high taxes.

Author: Ruddiman, Bob

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Abstract: None available.

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Among those who will be watching with keen interest U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's March 16 budget will be members of Britain's oil industry. Pressed by the impact of oil now priced at $30 a barrel, producers are eager for some short-term relief.

There have already been some concessions to British oil on the way down from $100 oil. Last year's budget announced a cut in the petroleum revenue tax to 35% from 50%. It also reduced the supplementary charge to 20% from 30% and set aside £20 million ($28 million) to support more seismic surveys of underexplored fields in the North Sea. Earlier this year, a further £500 million investment package was promised to support the oil exploration and production industry around the North Sea, to be paid for by England and Scotland.

Many felt these concessions were inadequate when oil was at $60 a barrel. Now that prices are half that, it's time for Mr. Osborne to redouble his support.

Without further concessions, the U.K. could face a flight of capital, skills and technologies to competing oil-rich regions with more stable fiscal regimes. Should they go, there's no guarantee that they would ever return. There is also a risk that the U.K. might miss the opportunity to incentivize investment and usher in a golden age of British technology and know-how. The industry surrounding the North Sea has developed some of the most innovative techniques for extracting oil safely and efficiently from remote locations. It's one of the few U.K. industries that can be said with confidence to be world class.

The industry itself is remarkably upbeat about its future. In a survey published in late January undertaken by my firm, we polled 200 senior executives in the oil-field-services industry with operations around the U.K. continental shelf. Ninety-six percent of respondents believed the U.K. North Sea would return to "peak" levels of profitability, with almost half predicting this rebound within the next three to five years. Seventy percent said they had plans to embark on mergers and acquisitions, driven by a desire to internationalize and export their technical expertise.

But that isn't to say that the industry doesn't need help reducing its current short-term pain.

A number of companies have already voiced concerns privately about how the government's planned "apprenticeship levy" will impact the industry. This is the program that proposes to impose a 0.5% tax on all employers with an annual wage bill of £3 million or more to help fund apprenticeships. Due to be introduced in April 2017, there are concerns in some quarters about the mounting costs this scheme would impose. Were one to create a disincentive for training the next generation of engineers and technicians at an already challenging time, it would probably look something like this. An exemption on a deferred basis would help soften the blow.

The oil sector is also concerned, as are other capital-intensive industries, about potential tax increases arising out of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's base erosion and profit-shifting project (BEPS). Few would defend aggressive and artificial corporate-financing arrangements designed to reduce tax liabilities, but the "cure" could be a killer for the oil industry.

One target for tax reform to reduce tax avoidance is to severely limit tax relief for interest payments, since such relief often figures prominently in corporate tax planning. But if the U.K. goes ahead with a blanket restriction on this tax relief, that could have a disproportionate effect on oil companies, whose investments occur over long time horizons and whose profitability has already been sharply eroded by the fall in oil prices.

Finally, the marginal tax rate on oil-field profits remains at 67.5% for older oil fields that are subject to the petroleum revenue tax and 50% for fields developed since the early 1990s. By comparison, the general corporation-tax rate is 20%. Clearly there must be scope for further tax reduction and flexibility amid the current volatility in global oil prices.

A decline from $100 oil has brought with it economic benefits to consumers. But as Mr. Osborne puts the final touches on his 2016 budget, he would do well to remember the British oil producers who are now struggling at $30 oil. That impact is only just starting to be felt.

Mr. Ruddiman is the head of energy at international law firm Pinsent Masons.

Credit: By Bob Ruddiman

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Opinion

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770077535

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770077535?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Fed's Kaplan Warns Oil Prices Could Remain Low for Some Time; Dallas Fed chief says energy industry could see more bankruptcies, mergers and restructurings

Author: Derby, Michael S

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Abstract:

Overproduction is being driven by Iran's return to the global energy market, smaller-than-expected cutbacks in American production, increased supply from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and falling demand from emerging-market economies, the official said.

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The leader of the Dallas Fed on Thursday said low oil prices aren't going anywhere for some time, suggesting a continuing challenge to the central bank's desire to boost inflation pressures.

Robert Steven Kaplan told an audience in Austin, Texas, that a significant oversupply of oil relative to demand is unlikely to be resolved until the middle of 2017. Mr. Kaplan heads one of the two regional Fed banks most connected to the energy sector, the other being the Minneapolis Fed, which counts North Dakota oil production in its district.

* Kaplan: Fed Should Show Patience in Considering Rate Increases

* Dallas Fed Chief Favors Regulations Tied to Banks' Sizes

Mr. Kaplan said his bank believes global oil production will exceed demand by one million barrels a day in 2016 before moderating next year. He said overproduction is such an issue that "there is now some discussion in the industry about potential limits in storage capacity."

"The ultimate timing of market production/consumption balance remains uncertain," Mr. Kaplan said. "In the meantime, we expect to see continued low prices and high levels of price volatility, as well as more bankruptcies, mergers and restructurings in the energy industry."

Fed officials have been surprised by the declines in energy prices, and the drops have complicated the outlook for inflation in the U.S. The Fed has failed to achieve its 2% price-rise target for more than three years, and it doesn't expect to get there until some time in 2018. The oil-price declines have made hitting the target even harder.

Fed official are counting on a stabilization of oil prices to create the favorable math that will lead to an increase in price pressures. But now, inflation expectations are on the wane, and some evidence suggests low gasoline prices are the culprit. As Fed officials see it, that could make it even harder for actual inflation to rise. Mr. Kaplan's comments suggest the Fed will be wrestling with the influence of weak oil for some time.

The central banker said the energy situation is having an impact on financial markets as well, and it is making the general cost of higher-risk credit more expensive. This in turn is putting pressure on mutual funds invested in the high-yield market, Mr. Kaplan said.

Write to Michael S. Derby at michael.derby@wsj.com

Credit: By Michael S. Derby

Subject: Inflation; Petroleum industry; Petroleum production; Energy industry

Location: Texas North Dakota

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Economy

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770079534

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Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Canadian Dollar Recovers on Higher Oil Prices and Hopes for Economy; But experts appear to be of mixed opinion about whether trend can be sustained

Author: George-Cosh, David

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: n/a.

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TORONTO--The Canadian dollar has gotten some of its strength back. But will that trend last?

After hitting a 13-year low of 68.1 U.S. cents on Jan. 20 on expectations the Bank of Canada was poised to cut interest rates to support an economy hard hit by the commodity-price rout , the currency was recently quoted at 74.6 U.S. cents. That 9.5% jump from its January bottom has surprised some analysts.

The rebound has made the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, a top performer among commodity-linked currencies this year. Since the start of 2016, the currency is up about 3.2% against the U.S. dollar. In the same period, the Australian dollar has advanced 1% versus the American currency, while the Norwegian krone is up about 3%.

"Mauled by bears and left for dead just a few weeks ago, the Canadian dollar is now back with a vengeance," National Bank Financial senior economist Krishen Rangasamy said in a note last week.

While the loonie's rebound was kick-started by the Canadian central bank's Jan. 20 monetary policy decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at 0.5%, several other factors have also come into play.

Prices for oil, a key Canadian export which heavily influences the loonie's direction, have risen more than 20% from multiyear lows below $30 a barrel last month, as investors grow more optimistic the major oil producers will curb output to deal with oversupply.

Also supporting the currency are expectations the Bank of Canada will stand pat on rates until the Canadian government gives more details about a planned fiscal-stimulus package to boost growth in resource-dependent Canada. That spending is likely to be unveiled in the government's 2016 budget on March 22.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, has signaled caution about the path of its interest-rate increases because of financial-market turbulence and weakness in foreign economies including China. Its next policy meeting is March 15-16.

"We're starting to buy Canadian dollars again and lighten up our U.S. dollar exposure," said Frank Maeba, managing director of Breton Hill Capital Ltd., a hedge fund based in Toronto.

Some Canadian dollar observers suggest the currency will grind higher to about 76 U.S. cents by the end of the year, as oil prices improve and the Canadian stimulus spending begins.

"Significant fiscal stimulus will take the onus off the Bank of Canada and position Canada for stronger [gross domestic product] growth rates going forward," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at the Bank of Nova Scotia. In 2015, the Canadian economy grew 1.2%, slower than the 2.5% pace the previous year.

Other experts aren't so sanguine about the loonie's prospects. David Doyle, Canadian strategist at Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd., hasn't stepped back from a bearish call made in January that the Canadian dollar would fall to around 59 U.S. cents this year.

The Canadian government's fiscal stimulus, currently pegged around 10 billion Canadian dollars ($7.4 billion) this year but likely to be higher, is relatively modest, and it will take quite a bit of time until it shapes the Canadian economy, he said.

Mr. Doyle expects debt-burdened households, a Canadian monetary policy that increasingly diverges from that in the U.S. and lackluster Canadian exports to weigh on Canada's outlook.

"By and large, the [Canadian] economy is still going to disappoint expectations in the next six to 12 months," Mr. Doyle said. "We think [the Bank of Canada] will cut rates in April or July."

Breton Hill's Mr. Maeba supports that bearish view and will look at selling opportunities when the loonie hits the 75-76 U.S. cent area. "We're still playing the ranges," he said. "The longer term trend we see in place for the loonie is to weaken back down."

Write to David George-Cosh at david.george-cosh@wsj.com

Credit: By David George-Cosh

Subject: Canadian dollar; American dollar; Interest rates; Federal Reserve monetary policy; Currency; Economic growth; Gross Domestic Product--GDP

Location: Canada United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Bank of Canada; NAICS: 521110; Name: Bank of Nova Scotia; NAICS: 522110; Name: National Bank Financial; NAICS: 522110

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770079627

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770079627?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Indicted Oil Titan Killed in Car Crash

Author: Olson, Bradley; Dezember, Ryan; Ailworth, Erin

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]03 Mar 2016: A.1.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Mr. McClendon grasped the promise of hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technology that could unlock formerly untapped deposits of oil and natural gas from dense underground sedimentary rock formations across the U.S. He in turn commanded what he described as an army of landmen that swarmed regions likely to hold these energy riches, photographing county deed records en masse and going door-to-door to persuade owners to lease the rights to drill beneath their land.

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Aubrey McClendon, an Oklahoma wildcatter who helped pioneer the shale energy boom, died in a fiery car crash Wednesday, a day after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to rig the price of oil and gas leases.

Mr. McClendon propelled the rebirth of U.S. energy production as the co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corp., leading a rush to lease land around the country to extract natural gas and oil trapped in shale rock formations through a technique made famous by its nickname, fracking.

His extreme risk-taking made him a billionaire at one time. It also caused him personal and professional financial hardships that spurred activist investors, including Carl Icahn, to oust him as Chesapeake's chief executive in 2013.

Mr. McClendon immediately embarked on a comeback attempt that was eventually hobbled by collapsing energy prices and led him to put up some of his remaining wealth as collateral -- including his minority stake in the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team.

"He was a major player in leading the stunning energy renaissance in America," said T. Boone Pickens, another energy pioneer, who had known Mr. McClendon for nearly 25 years. "He was charismatic and a true American entrepreneur. No individual is without flaws, but his impact on American energy will be long-lasting."

Oklahoma City police said Wednesday that Mr. McClendon was found dead after driving into a concrete wall around 9 a.m. at a speed well above the 40-mph hour limit for the area. He was alone in the car.

Mr. McClendon was survived by his wife, Katie, and three children. He was 56.

Authorities were trying to determine whether the crash was the cause of death, or whether a health problem had figured in the accident. Police said it would take one to two weeks to complete their investigation.

"The vehicle was immediately engulfed in flames," said Capt. Paco Balderrama, of the Oklahoma City Police Department. "It appears that speed was most definitely a factor in the fatality."

Mr. McClendon was an archetype from a past era: an oil man with an endless appetite for risk who shrugged off personal and professional peaks and valleys as the cost of doing business.

The son of a prominent Oklahoma family, Mr. McClendon was the great-nephew ofRobert Kerr, the former Oklahoma governor, U.S. senator and co-founder of Kerr McGee Corp., a large U.S. energy company sold in 2006 to Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Mr. McClendon, a graduate of Duke University, got his start in the oil business on the ground floor as a leasing agent, or "landman." In 1989, he formed Chesapeake with a fellow landman, and occasional competitor, Tom Ward, with $50,000.

He in turn commanded what he described as an army of landmen that swarmed regions likely to hold these energy riches, photographing county deed records en masse and going door-to-door to persuade owners to lease the rights to drill beneath their land.

At one point, Mr. McClendon spent more than $2 billion leasing rights to drill beneath roughly 5% of Ohio, where he believed the gas-laden Utica Shale would be the "biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow."

His aggressive approach drove Chesapeake to become the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. But his ambitions also created a mountain of debt that led to tensions with shareholders.

When Wall Street funding dried up after the financial crisis, he went to Asia with Ralph Eads, a Jefferies LLC banker and college pal, to successfully sell the region's sovereign-wealth funds on U.S. shale.

Soon, a flood of money flowed to Chesapeake and its oil-patch rivals, which kept drilling rigs running across the U.S., despite the recession. Mr. McClendon's star rose in his native Oklahoma, where he helped draw the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics to the state capital, where they became the Thunder.

He built a sprawling headquarters, a campus of redbrick Georgian buildings meant to evoke his alma mater with a large gym, restaurants, a full-time beekeeper to pollinate an organic garden -- all for employees.

"I have never met another man like him," said Tom Price, a former Chesapeake senior vice president who worked with Mr. McClendon. "Aubrey made us all believe better things about ourselves."

The shale boom transformed energy markets, challenged Saudi Arabia's role as a global oil price-setter -- and later contributed to a world-wide glut of oil and gas that led to one of the worst price crashes in decades.

Mr. McClendon often ran his personal finances much like those of Chesapeake -- spending without much regard to cost. But once prices fell, Mr. McClendon's playbook frayed. A billionaire from the value of his shares, he was forced to sell tens of millions during a margin call on his debts in 2008.

With unbending conviction about the prospects of shale drilling, Mr. McClendon set his sights on new opportunities in 2013 after his ouster from Chesapeake. He started anew just blocks from the company's campus and recruited former employees with such bold strokes as billboards urging workers in Oklahoma's oil patch to join him.

In less than three years, he raised more than $14 billion from blue-chip debt investors, pension funds, friends and employees. Almost as soon as Mr. McClendon's companies were formed and bought new assets, the price of crude oil and natural gas began a precipitous crash.

Mr. McClendon used American Energy Partners LP as the means to acquire oil and gas leases and mount his second act after his ouster at Chesapeake. In the past year, financial backers replaced him as CEO and board member at several of the companies under the American Energy umbrella.

Meanwhile, he struggled to raise new funds from private-equity firms and banks -- once his strength -- for ventures in Australia, Argentina and Oklahoma.

Scott Roberts, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco Ltd. who helps manage $3 billion in high-yield bonds, said in an interview before this week's indictment that he had long admired Mr. McClendon for his visionary deal-making at Chesapeake, but couldn't stomach buying into his new ventures.

"He's always had a wide following of people willing to give him capital. But this time, it was different," Mr. Roberts said. "There was too much debt."

In October, Mr. McClendon put up a host of personal assets -- including houses, vintage wines and antique boats -- as collateral for new lenders. Some were transfers from previous creditors, including his roughly 20% stake in the Thunder to Oaktree Capital Group LLC. A spokeswoman for Oaktree, which specializes in distressed assets, declined to comment.

A personal loan of more than $400 million from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other banks helped finance his investment in new shale companies during 2013 and 2014, according to people familiar with the matter. That loan was still outstandingand most of it had been syndicated by the bank, the people said.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Mr. McClendon, alleging he orchestrated a campaign with an unnamed company to keep bid prices in Oklahoma down from 2007 to 2012. The state of Michigan made similar allegations against Chesapeake, and the company settled that case for $25 million last year. Mr. McClendon contested the federal charges Tuesday evening.

"All my life I have worked to create jobs in Oklahoma, grow its economy, and to provide abundant and affordable energy to all Americans," he said in a statement. "I am proud of my track record in this industry, and I will fight to prove my innocence and to clear my name."

According to a person familiar with the matter, the other party referenced in the indictment is Mr. Ward, Mr. McClendon's old partner at Chesapeake, who served as chief executive of another Oklahoma City energy company, SandRidge Energy Inc., before departing in 2013. Representatives for SandRidge and Mr. Ward didn't return requests for comment on Wednesday. SandRidge had previously disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had been contacted in connection with a federal antitrust probe involving leasing.

One of the largest benefactors behind Mr. McClendon's comeback bid was private equity investor John Raymond, whose Houston-based Energy & Minerals Group helped launch American Energy Partners and invested roughly $3 billion with Mr. McClendon. But EMG declined to participate in Mr. McClendon's recent projects, including those overseas.

"We will deeply mourn his loss and please join us in expressing our condolences to his family," American Energy Partners said in a statement following his death.

Still, Mr. McClendon, a gambler among gamblers in the energy industry, was doing deals despite the current drop in oil and gas prices, even as rivals backed off.

Last month, he signed a $500 million deal to develop shale oil and gas in Argentina with state-run firm YPF SA. He signed the agreement even though he had yet to produce the funds. As late as Monday, his SCOOP Energy Co. was filing new drilling agreements outside Oklahoma City, according to court documents.

That fearless attitude was among the traits his colleagues recalled Wednesdayafter hearing of his death.

"Aubrey McClendon could have been successful 40 years ago and 40 years from now," said James Hackett, the former chief executive of Anadarko Petroleum and a longtime oil industry peer. "He is one of the most incredible entrepreneurs I've ever known."

---

Lynn Cook contributed to this article.

Credit: By Bradley Olson, Ryan Dezember and Erin Ailworth

Subject: Natural gas; Petroleum industry; Professional basketball; Hydraulic fracturing; Fatalities; Traffic accidents & safety

Location: United States--US Oklahoma

People: McClendon, Aubrey

Company / organization: Name: Oklahoma City Thunder; NAICS: 711211; Name: Chesapeake Energy Corp; NAICS: 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: A.1

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 3, 2016

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: New spapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770828359

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770828359?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Nigerian Official Says Some OPEC Members to Meet With Russia March 20; Crude oil prices have plunged more than 70% since June 2014

Author: Oredein, Obafemi

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

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Some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are scheduled to meet with non-member Russia later in the month as part of efforts to stabilize crude oil prices, a senior Nigerian official said Thursday.

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Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, said the meeting will take place on March 20 in Moscow to "fine tune collaborative strategies," according to a statement from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. His comments were the first by an official providing details of the timing and location of a possible meeting.

Russian and Venezuela, an OPEC member, previously had said a meeting of producers would take place to finalize a deal to freeze production.

Officials from Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said earlier Thursday that no final decision had been made on the time and location of the meeting.

Mr. Kachikwu didn't name the OPEC member countries that would meet with Russia.

Last month, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia--the world's two largest crude-oil exporters--agreed with Qatar and Venezuela to freeze their production amid mounting pressure to prop up slumping oil prices.

Crude oil prices have plunged more than 70% since June 2014, largely because of surging supplies from the U.S., Russia and OPEC members including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Iran.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude exporter has seen its revenue drop sharply because of the plummeting prices for oil, the source of over 90% of its foreign exchange and 70% of government revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari last week held talks with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on measures to achieve greater stability in crude prices.

Benoit Faucon contributed to this article.

Write to Obafemi Oredein at realtimedesklondon@wsj.com

Credit: By Obafemi Oredein

Subject: Crude oil; Crude oil prices; Petroleum industry

Location: Venezuela Kuwait Qatar Russia Nigeria Saudi Arabia

People: al-Thani, Tamim bin Hamad

Company / organization: Name: International Monetary Fund--IMF; NAICS: 522298

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770107761

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770107761?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Trend Higher on Hopes of Shrinking U.S. Production; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.15 to $37.22 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

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HSBC expects a 19% fall in aggregate capital expenditures this year for the global integrated oil companies the bank covers in its equity research, sinking spending to a ten-year low.

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Crude-oil prices carved out small gains in early Asia trade Friday, driven by expectations of smaller U.S. production as persistently low prices squeeze less-competitive producers out of the market.

U.S. crude production posted a 2.6% year-over-year drop in the week that ended Feb. 26 by falling to 9.08 million barrels a day. Although the total crude stocks at 518 million barrels is the highest since 1930 based on monthly data, the declining trend in production, albeit gradual, is enough to turn some traders bullish.

Latest projection by the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates domestic crude production to decrease from an average of 9.4 million barrels a day in 2015 to 8.7 million barrels a day in 2016 and to 8.5 million barrels a day in 2017.

"The forecast reflects an extended decline in lower 48 onshore production driven by persistently low oil prices that is partially offset by growing production in the federal Gulf of Mexico," the agency said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $34.83 a barrel at 0330 GMT, up $0.26 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.15 to $37.22 a barrel.

As oversupply has roiled prices for nearly 20 months, some smaller shale producers are struggling to stay afloat. Some are coping by pausing production.

"The tight credit market will make it difficult for U.S. shale producers to refinance upcoming debt, and we may see an accelerated decline in U.S. oil production in 2016 to 2017," ANZ Research said in a note.

U.S. oil players are hardly alone in dealing with the sting of low prices. HSBC expects a 19% fall in aggregate capital expenditures this year for the global integrated oil companies the bank covers in its equity research, sinking spending to a ten-year low.

The price collapse has also battered the national coffers of oil-producing countries. Even Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Organization, is planning to cut spending by 14% this year as the kingdom faces a budget deficit.

The prolonged downturn recently prompted several larger producers--Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela--to call for a collective freeze of output at January's levels. Even though Iran has flatly refused to comply, Russia's energy minister said a "critical mass" of countries had pledged to be on board.

Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum resources, said a meeting will take place on March 20 in Moscow to "fine tune collaborative strategies," according to a statement from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

But not all market watchers are excited about the possible freeze, saying that because many producers were already pumping at an exceedingly high rate in January, holding output at the January levels meant the global glut may take longer to dwindle.

In the short term, traders will be keeping an eye on U.S. non-farm payrolls for fresh cues.

"For today, we continue to expect prices to move back towards the middle of the range as U.S. nonfarm payrolls are expected to be strong. This would cause the U.S. dollar index to move upwards [and] thus, give downward pressures for oil," said Daniel Ang, a Phillip Futures analyst.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose five points to $1.2993 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.1200, two points lower.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $329.75 a metric ton, down $0.75 from Thursday's settlement.

Obafemi Oredein contributed to this article.

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Petroleum industry; Capital expenditures; Budget deficits; Futures; Crude oil prices; Petroleum production

Location: United States--US Asia

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770110498

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770110498?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Nigeria to Split Up National Oil Company; State's powerful oil bureaucracy will be broken up as government combats corruption

Author: Faucon, Benoit

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

"Titles like 'group executive directors' are going to disappear and in their place you are going to have chief executive officers and they are going to take responsibilities for their titles," he said.

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Nigeria is set to split its giant state-run company into 30 independent units, a spokesman for the firm said, in an effort to improve efficiency in the wake of the oil price crash .

The Nigerian National Oil Co., which oversees oil fields from Africa's largest oil producer, has suffered from decades of mismanagement and corruption. But with the country struggling financially because of low oil prices, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is taking steps to root out its problems by breaking up the country's powerful oil bureaucracy.

"For the first time we are unbundling the subset of the NNPC to 30 independent companies with their own managing directors," said Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's oil minister, who is also NNPC's managing director. "Titles like 'group executive directors' are going to disappear and in their place you are going to have chief executive officers and they are going to take responsibilities for their titles," he said.

Nigeria is currently in talks for a loan from the World Bank to help fill a steep budget deficit this year.

The previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan has been widely accused of bribery and misappropriation of funds in the oil sector. Former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is being investigated on corruption allegations in Nigeria and the U.K. Through her lawyer, she has denied any wrongdoing.

Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com

Credit: By Benoit Faucon

Subject: Executives; Petroleum industry

Location: Africa Nigeria

People: Jonathan, Goodluck Kachikwu, Emmanuel Ibe Alison-Madueke, Diezani

Company / organization: Name: International Bank for Reconstruction & Development--World Bank; NAICS: 928120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: World

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770194618

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770194618?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Jump as Drilling Drops; Number of oil and natural-gas rigs fell to just above the record low in the past week

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The number of rigs drilling for crude in the U.S., which is viewed as a rough proxy for activity in the oil industry, dropped by eight in the past week to 392, the lowest level since 2009, oil-field-services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday.

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U.S. oil prices rose for a third consecutive week as drilling continued to decline.

The combined number of oil and natural-gas rigs fell by 13 to 489, just above the record low of 488 rigs in 1999, according to Baker Hughes data starting in late 1948.

"We're starting to see a lot of erosion in U.S. production," said Carl Larry, director of oil and gas at Frost & Sullivan. "We're inching our way back to $40."

U.S. oil output has fallen from a peak in April as companies sharply cut spending on new drilling, but it hasn't declined as much as some investors expected because producers increased their efficiency and lowered drilling costs. Some analysts say U.S. production is due to drop more quickly this year because companies have announced new budget cuts in recent weeks.

"You're on the path to getting a little bit more balance between supply and demand globally," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "The factors are moving in place to begin to establish at least the lower [boundary] in oil prices."

Light, sweet crude for April delivery settled up $1.35, or 3.9%, Friday at $35.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 5. Prices are up 37% from the 13-year low reached last month.

For the week, U.S. crude was up 9.6%.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose $1.65, or 4.5%, Friday to $38.72 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the highest close since Dec. 10. Prices are up 3.9% this year. Friday marked the first session in 2016 that Brent prices settled positive for the year to date.

The global oil market remains oversupplied. U.S. inventories of crude oil rose more than expected in the week ended Feb. 26 and stand at the highest level in more than 80 years, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Prices held their gains Friday after U.S. data showed stronger-than-expected jobs growth in February. Increased employment can add to oil demand, as more commuters drive to work.

Talks among major producers, including Russia and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Countries, about freezing their output also have boosted prices in recent weeks.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's oil minister, said Thursday that a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries will take place on March 20 in Moscow to "fine-tune collaborative strategies," according to a statement from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

Iran, however, has indicated it won't join the freeze plan. Iran's production is expected to rise this year now that sanctions have been lifted, and market watchers say increased Iranian output could offset any decrease by other producers. Some analysts also are skeptical of the plan because some countries' January output levels were near record highs.

Gasoline futures rose 3.33 cents, or 2.6%, Friday to $1.3321 a gallon, the highest level since Dec. 1. Prices rose 2.9% for the week.

Diesel futures advanced 4.11 cents, or 3.7%, to $1.1613 a gallon, posting an 8.9% weekly gain.

Georgi Kantchev contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Crude oil prices; Petroleum industry; Supply & demand; Futures

Location: United States--US

People: Kachikwu, Emmanuel Ibe

Company / organization: Name: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries--OPEC; NAICS: 813910; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210; Name: Baker Hughes Inc; NAICS: 213112, 333132, 333249; Name: Frost & Sullivan; NAICS: 541910

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770194669

Document URL: https://login .ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770194669?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

BP CEO Gets 20% Rise in Total Pay Despite Oil Price Slump Hitting Earnings; Company continued freeze on executives' salaries and said they would remain static in 2016

Author: Kent, Sarah

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

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LONDON--BP PLC Chief Executive Bob Dudley received a 20% bump in his total compensation package last year, bringing it to $19.6 million despite a continuing slump in oil prices that has battered the energy giant's earnings .

Mr. Dudley got a boost in 2015 from a $1.4 million cash bonus--up from about $1 million in 2014--and a doubling of his retirement savings from 2014 to $6.5 million, the company said in its annual report released on Friday.

Overall, the company continued a freeze on its executives' salaries and said they would remain static in 2016 given the low oil prices. Mr. Dudley's actual salary of about $1.9 million was little changed from 2014.

BP is the first of the so-called oil majors to release details of executive pay in 2015--a year defined by a nearly 50% drop in oil prices that hammered the entire sector.

Mr. Dudley's compensation increase reflects a year in which BP lost $5.2 billion. The company announced plans this year to cut 7,000 jobs by the end of 2017 and has slashed spending to help manage the slump.

Mr. Dudley should be accustomed to operating under such pressure. The 60-year-old executive's time at the head of the company has been defined by crises--BP's disastrous 2010 blowout in the Gulf of Mexico followed by one of the biggest oil slumps in the markets history.

Though sizable, Mr. Dudley's pay package is still much smaller when compared with the heads of America's largest oil companies. In 2014, Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson received compensation valued at $33 million and Chevron Corp.'s head John Watson got a $26 million package.

Such massive payouts have in the past led to tensions with investors. For instance, last year, shareholder advisory group Glass Lewis recommended investors vote down Mr. Dudley's proposed pay for 2014, though ultimately the package received approval at the company's annual meeting.

BP said its compensation committee focused on Mr. Dudley's success in bringing down costs and spending, a strong safety record for the year and operating cash flow and underlying profits that beat internal targets. Mr. Dudley was one of the first oil executives to warn that the era of low prices would last longer than many expected.

"The company's decision in late 2014 to plan for a 'lower for longer' oil price meant that the leadership acted early and decisively to respond to the low oil price environment," BP said in the annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. "Overall, management delivered very well in terms of what they could control."

BP said Mr. Dudley's pay package isn't as large as it looks because U.K. reporting requirements have inflated the increase in Mr. Dudley's pension. The company said their top executive's pension savings increased by $309,000 last year. That number has been multiplied by 20 in the report to comply with U.K. regulations, but the company said a U.S. plan like Mr. Dudley's would more typically have an annuity factor of around 14.

Excluding pension and retirement savings the executive's pay slipped to $13.1 million in 2015, compared with $13.4 million a year earlier. He received $9.7 million from a deferred bonus and performance-linked shares, down from $10.4 million in 2014.

Along with his salary and cash bonus, he received $119,000 for a car, security and other benefits.

Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com

Credit: By Sarah Kent

Subject: Executive compensation; Petroleum industry; Chief executive officers; Prices; Wages & salaries

Location: United States--US

People: Tillerson, Rex W

Company / organization: Name: Securities & Exchange Commission; NAICS: 926150; Name: Chevron Corp; NAICS: 324110, 211111; Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770206641

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770206641?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Norway Taps Oil Fund for First Time as Falling Oil Price Takes Its Toll; Fund will continue to grow, at least as long as its returns outpace government spending, says official

Author: Hovland, Kjetil Malkenes

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Over the last decade, it ballooned to 7 trillion kroner--or around $150,000 per man, woman and child in Norway--from 1 trillion kroner, mainly due to higher oil prices. Since 1996, the government has pumped 3.5 trillion kroner into the fund, but last year that inflow nearly ground to a halt, amid a roughly 70% drop in oil prices since mid-2014.

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OSLO--Norway's government in January tapped into its sovereign-wealth fund to cover its expenses, for the first time since the fund was established in 1996, in another sign that falling oil revenues are taking a toll on crude producers.

This year is set to be an inflection point for Norway, western Europe's largest oil producer and exporter, as it expects to make use of its rainy-day fund sooner than planned.

In January, the fund transferred 6.7 billion kroner ($781 million) to the government, the first such transfer since the fund was set up, according to the country's Ministry of Finance.

Until now, the government has pumped nearly 200 billion kroner a year into the fund on average. But this year, it may spend as much as 80 billion kroner from the wealth fund's returns, according to Norway's central bank.

Norway is not the only oil producer to turn to their wealth funds for resources as oil revenues tanked. As an effect, some of the world's biggest investors, including Norway's sovereign-wealth fund, will have less money at hand to prop up global markets.

"The fact that oil revenues would become too small to cover the government budget deficit was assumed from the beginning," said Paal Bjornestad, a state secretary in the country's Ministry of Finance. "Due to low oil prices, this came earlier than expected, but there will still be an inflow to the fund."

Mr. Bjornestad said that Norway's piggy bank will continue to grow, at least as long as its returns outpace government spending. The fund is set up to last forever, due to the government's annual spending limit of 4% of its value--which is equal to the fund's expected long-term average returns.

* T he Trouble With Sovereign-Wealth Funds

* Five Things About Sovereign-Wealth Funds

But without any government cash transfers, a period of unprecedented growth may be over for the fund . Over the last decade, it ballooned to 7 trillion kroner--or around $150,000 per man, woman and child in Norway--from 1 trillion kroner, mainly due to higher oil prices.

Since 1996, the government has pumped 3.5 trillion kroner into the fund, but last year that inflow nearly ground to a halt, amid a roughly 70% drop in oil prices since mid-2014.

The fund has returned more than 2.3 trillion kroner on its investments since 1998, and its value has increased another 1.1 trillion kroner as the krone weakened against foreign currencies.

Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com

Credit: By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland

Subject: Budget deficits

Location: Norway Europe

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770388614

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770388614?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Oil Rig Count Falls to 2009 Levels; First time level has fallen below 400 since late 2009

Author: Minaya, Ezequiel; Molinski, Dan

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

According to Baker Hughes, the number of U.S. gas rigs dropped in the latest week by five to 97, a fall to levels unheard of in Baker Hughes' current format, which dates back to 1987.

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The U.S. oil-rig count fell by eight to 392 in the latest week, according to Baker Hughes Inc., reaching levels last seen in late 2009.

The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry, has fallen sharply since oil prices began to fall. The latest total of 392 active oil rigs marks the first time it has fallen below 400 since late 2009.

There are now about 69% fewer rigs of all kinds from a peak of 1,609 in October 2014.

According to Baker Hughes, the number of U.S. gas rigs dropped in the latest week by five to 97, a fall to levels unheard of in Baker Hughes' current format, which dates back to 1987.

The U.S. offshore-rig count was 24 in the latest week, down three rigs from last week and down 27 rigs from a year ago.

In total, the U.S. rig count is down 13 from last week at 489.

Oil prices rose Friday on a weaker dollar and expectations of another large drop in U.S. drilling. Prices held their gains after U.S. data showed stronger-than-expected job growth in February.

Recently, U.S. crude oil climbed 3.6% to $35.83 a barrel.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com and Dan Molinski at Dan.Molinski@wsj.com

Credit: By Ezequiel Minaya and Dan Molinski

Subject: Petroleum industry; Oil service industry

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: Baker Hughes Inc; NAICS: 213112, 333132, 333249

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 4, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770407233

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770407233?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Jump as Number of Rigs Falls --- Gauge of activity in crude industry drops to lowest since 2009; 'inching...back to $40'

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]05 Mar 2016: B.5.

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U.S. oil prices rose for a third consecutive week as drilling continued to decline.

The combined number of oil and natural-gas rigs fell by 13 to 489, just above the record low of 488 rigs in 1999, according to Baker Hughes data starting in late 1948.

"We're starting to see a lot of erosion in U.S. production," said Carl Larry, director of oil and gas at Frost & Sullivan. "We're inching our way back to $40."

For the week, U.S. crude was up 9.6%.

Prices held their gains Friday after U.S. data showed stronger-than-expected jobs growth in February. Increased employment can add to oil demand, as more commuters drive to work.

Talks among major producers, including Russia and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Countries, about freezing their output also have boosted prices in recent weeks.

Gasoline futures rose 3.33 cents, or 2.6%, Friday to $1.3321 a gallon, the highest level since Dec. 1. Prices rose 2.9% for the week.

Diesel futures advanced 4.11 cents, or 3.7%, to $1.1613 a gallon, posting an 8.9% weekly gain.

U.S. oil prices rose for a third consecutive week as drilling continued to decline.

The combined number of oil and natural-gas rigs fell by 13 to 489, just above the record low of 488 rigs in 1999, according to Baker Hughes data starting in late 1948.

"We're starting to see a lot of erosion in U.S. production," said Carl Larry, director of oil and gas at Frost & Sullivan. "We're inching our way back to $40."

For the week, U.S. crude was up 9.6%.

Prices held their gains Friday after U.S. data showed stronger-than-expected jobs growth in February. Increased employment can add to oil demand, as more commuters drive to work.

Talks among major producers, including Russia and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Countries, about freezing their output also have boosted prices in recent weeks.

Gasoline futures rose 3.33 cents, or 2.6%, Friday to $1.3321 a gallon, the highest level since Dec. 1. Prices rose 2.9% for the week.

Diesel futures advanced 4.11 cents, or 3.7%, to $1.1613 a gallon, posting an 8.9% weekly gain.

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Crude oil; Commodity prices

Location: United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.

Pages: B.5

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 5, 2016

column: Commodities

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00999660

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770472684

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770472684?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Crude-Oil Prices Extend Gains as Market Turns More Bullish; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.64 to $39.36 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

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According to Nigeria's oil minister, officials from oil-producing nations will meet on March 20 in Moscow to discuss the details of the pact.

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Crude-oil prices extended gains in early Asian trade Monday as the market turned more bullish on expectations of smaller supply and growing demand.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $36.51 a barrel at 0210 GMT, up $0.59 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.64 to $39.36 a barrel.

Oil prices have been climbing steadily in recent weeks, powered by expectations of a production freeze. At least four countries so far, including Russia and Saudi Arabia but not Iran, have pledged to cap future oil productions at January's levels.

Many analysts say that while the move will do little to abate the glut, it is still a step in the right direction and possibly opens the door for future concessions. According to Nigeria's oil minister, officials from oil-producing nations will meet on March 20 in Moscow to discuss the details of the pact.

There have been other signs that low oil prices are weighing on production plans. Last week, the number of rigs drilling for crude in the U.S. dropped by eight to 392, to the lowest level since 2009, according to industry group Baker Hughes.

The combined number of oil and natural-gas rigs fell by 13 to 489, just above the record low of 488 rigs in 1999, the group said.

U.S. shale production has also ebbed from its peak level in April of last year, emphasizing the financial struggles seen across the energy sector.

"The tight credit market will make it difficult for U.S. shale producers to refinance upcoming debt, and we may see an accelerated decline in U.S. oil production in 2016 to 2017," says ANZ.

Outlook for global oil demand is also brightening. In February, U.S. job growth rebounded as nonfarm payrolls increased by 242,000 and gains in the prior two months were revised up by 30,000. Increased employment can add to oil demand as more commuters drive to work.

Over the weekend, Premier Li Keqiang laid out China's target economic growth should average at least 6.5% over the next five years. The country's top economic-planning agency also ruled out any possibility of a hard landing and rebutted the claim that China's slower growth is a drag on the global economy.

"China's oil import will remain strong, because domestic crude production is declining and appetite for foreign crude by the independent refineries is growing," said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at the Shandong-based SCI International.

Investment group CLSA estimates China's oil majors will cut domestic oil production by 4% to 5% in 2016 and a further 3% next year.

"It seems to us that Beijing has a higher tolerance of ever-increasing crude oil, and we expect the import ratio to hit 70% by 2018, if not earlier, from just above 60% in 2015," said CLSA analyst Nelson Wang, tipping crude imports by the world's biggest energy consumer to grow 6% in 2016, after the 8.8% year-over-year growth in the previous year.

This week, the market will be taking cues from China's February trade data report set for release Tuesday as well as the U.S.'s weekly report on crude inventories and production to be issued Wednesday.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 152 points to $1.3473 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.1715, 102 points higher.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $346.00 a metric ton, up $9.25 from Friday's settlement.

Write to Jenny Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Petroleum industry; Crude oil prices; Petroleum production; Energy industry

Location: China Iran Russia United States--US Saudi Arabia

People: Li Keqiang

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770796486

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770796486?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Sasol Boosts Cost Savings as Oil Price Hits Profit; The South African petrochemical and energy major was hit by a sharply declining Brent crude oil price

Author: Wexler, Alexandra

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Over the course of the six months ended Dec. 31, Sasol was hit by a 47% decline in the average Brent crude oil price, but that decrease was partly offset by a 24% drop in the average rand to U.S. dollar exchange rate during the period.

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JOHANNESBURG--South African petrochemical and energy major Sasol Ltd. reported a steep drop in net profit for the six months ended Dec. 31, in line with expectations amid a global slump in oil prices.

Sasol on Monday posted a profit of 7.31 billion South African rand ($475 million) for the first half of its fiscal year, down 63% from the first half of fiscal 2015, as the company continued to cut costs in response to lower crude prices. Headline earnings per share, the preferred profit measure that strips out certain exceptional and one-off items, fell 24% to 24.28 rand, in line with expectations.

The company said Monday it had updated and extended the scope of its low oil price response plan against the backdrop of a $30-a-barrel oil price, reducing overall head count by 14%, or 4,900 employees. The company also said that it was finished cutting head count.

Sasol had previously said it would conserve between 30 billion rand and 50 billion rand between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2017, by cutting back on capital projects, as well as through buyouts and early retirements. On Monday it extended that amount to between 65 billion rand and 75 billion rand through June 30, 2018.

"Those are levers we can pull harder on or relax on," Sasol Chief Executive David Constable told The Wall Street Journal. A big expansion in Mozambique will now focus on gas first, then oil, rather than both at the same time. An ethane cracker in Louisiana is going ahead at a slower pace, while the company is cutting back its drilling in Canada.

Sasol is forecasting oil prices at $40 a barrel for the remainder of its 2016 fiscal year, as well as 2017. Still, "there are some encouraging signs we might be nearing the bottom or seeing the bottom," Mr. Constable said.

Sasol's revenue was down 15% at 84.48 billion rand in the latest period from a year earlier, beating expectations of a 21% slide. The company's shares have risen 14% in the year-to-date.

Sasol declared a gross dividend of 5.70 rand a share, down 19% from the first half of 2015--part of Sasol's cash-conserving strategy.

Write to Alexandra Wexler at alexandra.wexler@wsj.com

Credit: By Alexandra Wexler

Subject: Crude oil prices; Rands; Petroleum industry; Stock prices; Corporate profits

Location: United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770813137

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770813137?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Stocks Edge Higher After Recent Rally; Energy shares rise as oil prices climb

Author: Kuriloff, Aaron; Gold, Riva

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

[...]Monday, U.S. oil-field-services company Baker Hughes said the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas globally fell in February to the lowest level since 2002, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects April production declines in key shale-drilling regions.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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U.S. stocks tiptoed to their longest rally since October as a rise in oil prices lifted energy shares.

Investors said Monday's small moves marked a pause after major indexes bounced back from February lows to near their highest levels this year on signs of strength in the U.S. economy.

After a three-week rebound that propelled the Dow industrials above 17000 for the first time since early January, some investors and traders said they were taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of Thursday's European Central Bank meeting, which many expect will produce additional stimulus efforts.

* Investors Anxious Ahead of ECB Rate Decision

* Europe's Banks Find a Dumping Ground for Losses

* Trump's Three Friends in Finance

"People are definitely watching and being somewhat circumspect in their investing," said Tom Carter, managing director at JonesTrading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.18 points, or 0.4%, to 17073.95, and the S&P 500 climbed 1.77 points, or 0.1%, to 2001.76. Both indexes rose for a fifth session in a row, their longest winning streaks since October.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 8.77 points, or 0.2%, to 4708.25.

Chevron and Exxon Mobil were among the biggest gainers in the Dow. The energy sector led gains in the S&P 500, with Murphy Oil rising $2.99, or 13%, to $26.69 and Southwestern Energy gaining 76 cents, or 9.7%, to 8.59.

A rebound in commodities prices that helped stoke the recent rally extended into Monday, as U.S. crude oil rose 5.5% to $37.90 a barrel. Oil prices are up 45% from a 13-year low in February.

Oil prices have risen steadily since Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar tentatively agreed last month to freeze their output at January levels. The United Arab Emirates' energy minister said Monday that current prices were forcing all suppliers to freeze production.

Also Monday, U.S. oil-field-services company Baker Hughes said the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas globally fell in February to the lowest level since 2002, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects April production declines in key shale-drilling regions.

Some analysts warned, however, that the oil rally could be stopped by still-ample inventories of crude and refined products, with U.S. crude-oil stockpiles at their highest level in more than 80 years.

With U.S. economic data easing fears of recession, investors have bought back into some of the assets they sold off earlier this year, while junk-bond yield spreads have narrowed and volatility has receded.

Friday's strong U.S. jobs report further calmed concerns, helping to push up the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 1.902%, its highest yield since Feb. 1, from 1.883% Friday. Gold prices fell 0.5% to $1,263.20 an ounce.

"There's been a collective sigh of relief after starting the year in such a sloppy manner," said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities.

Investors also were turning their attention to efforts in Europe and China to prop up slowing economies.

European Central Bank officials are widely expected to cut a key interest rate further into negative territory Thursday and expand the bank's stimulus measures to combat persistent weakness in the region's growth and inflation.

"There are many different combinations of additional easing that [ECB President Mario] Draghi can put out," said Nandini Ramakrishnan, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

The Stoxx Europe 600 declined 0.3% as shares in banking companies fell.

Chinese shares rose after authorities mapped out plans to buoy growth and said they expect the economy to grow between 6.5% and 7% this year, which is the lowest growth target that Beijing has set in a quarter of a century. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% Monday.

The benchmark price for iron ore , a key steelmaking ingredient, rallied to a nine-month high after Chinese leaders said they would prioritize economic growth over restructuring this year, signaling the potential for more stimulus measures.

Shares in Australia rose 1% to close at their highest level in more than two months as mining companies gained.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6% on Monday, while shares in Hong Kong fell less than 0.1%.

Nicole Friedman contributed to this article.

In the Markets

* Oil Prices Lifted by Supply Cut Hopes

* China Shares Climb

* U.S. Government Bonds Under Pressure

* Gold Wavers as Fed Decision Awaited

Write to Aaron Kuriloff at aaron.kuriloff@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

Credit: Aaron Kuriloff; Riva Gold

Subject: Central banks; Petroleum industry; Recessions; Energy industry

Location: United States--US Europe

Company / organization: Name: Exxon Mobil Corp; NAICS: 447110, 211111; Name: Murphy Oil Corp; NAICS: 211111, 213112; Name: European Central Bank; NAICS: 521110

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

column: U.S. Markets

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770817920

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770817920?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

UAE Energy Minister Sees Global Crude Markets Correcting Before Year-End; Current prices are forcing oil producers to freeze output, while demand remains solid, says minister

Author: Parasie, Nicolas; Said, Summer

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

ABU DHABI--Global crude markets will see a correction before the end of this year as current prices are forcing all producers to freeze their production, the United Arab Emirates' energy minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei said Monday.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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"I believe the current prices are forcing everyone to freeze. It's happening as we speak. It doesn't make any sense for anyone to increase the production with the current prices," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of an aerospace conference in Abu Dhabi.

"To the contrary, many producing assets are losing now at the current oil prices and I think those are all [outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries]. This is all good news for balancing the market. We just need to be patient," he said.

Mr. Mazrouei said that he was optimistic prices will see some correction before the end of this year, adding there is evidence every day that the glut in the market is decreasing while demand is solid.

Crude oil prices have plunged more than 70% since June 2014, largely because of surging supplies from the U.S., Russia and OPEC members including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Iran.

Last month, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia--the world's two largest crude-oil exporters--agreed with Qatar and Venezuela to freeze their production at the January levels amid mounting pressure to prop up slumping oil prices.

Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum resources, said last week that some OPEC members are scheduled to meet with other producers, including Russia, on March 20 in Moscow to fine-tune talks on the output freeze. His comments were the first by an official providing details of the timing and location of a possible meeting.

Mr. Mazrouei, however, said that OPEC member U.A.E. hasn't yet received an official invitation to attend the meeting but the country "is always cooperating with non-OPEC and if there is an unanimous decision to meet among the majority members of OPEC we will meet."

Two Persian Gulf Arab OPEC delegates told The Wall Street Journal that no decision has been made yet on either the date or the location of the meeting between OPEC and producers from outside the group.

A third delegate familiar with the Saudi thinking said Gulf countries prefer to have the gathering in Doha in the first half of April.

Write to Nicolas Parasie at nicolas.parasie@wsj.com and Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicolas Parasie and Summer Said

Subject: Crude oil prices; Petroleum industry

Location: Nigeria Russia United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770820289

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770820289?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Lifted by Supply-Cut Hopes; UAE energy minister says current prices are forcing suppliers to freeze production

Author: Friedman, Nicole

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Monday that the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas around the world fell by 130 in February to 1,761 rigs, the lowest level since 2002.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Oil prices surged Monday on hopes that declines in oil drilling around the world and an output deal among major producers would shrink the global glut of crude.

U.S. oil prices have climbed 45% off a 13-year low reached in February, as investors have focused on talks among producing nations about freezing output and expectations that U.S. production will keep falling. However, some analysts warn that the rally could be halted by still-ample inventories of crude oil and refined products. In the U.S., crude-oil stockpiles stand at the highest level in more than 80 years.

The U.S. benchmark contract settled up $1.98, or 5.5%, to $37.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Dec. 24. Brent, the global benchmark, climbed $2.12, or 5.5%, to $40.84 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the highest level since Dec. 4.

The oil-price rally is extending to consumers. The national average price at the pump rose six cents in the past week, the biggest one-week gain since the start of 2016, the American Automobile Association said. At $1.812 a gallon, the average retail gasoline price is still 64.6 cents lower than a year ago. Gasoline prices are likely to keep rising, the organization said, as refiners produce less fuel while undergoing seasonal maintenance.

The oil-price rout that started in mid-2014 has forced companies to slash spending on new drilling. Oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Monday that the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas around the world fell by 130 in February to 1,761 rigs, the lowest level since 2002.

In the U.S., the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas stands at the lowest level since 1999, according to Baker Hughes.

Despite a large decline in drilling, U.S. production has fallen more slowly than many investors and analysts expected in the past year because companies lowered their costs and improved efficiency, and new offshore projects in the Gulf of Mexico started up.

Some market participants are calling for U.S. output to decline more quickly this year, because companies have announced new spending cuts. The Energy Information Administration said Monday that it expects oil production in the seven key shale-drilling regions to drop by more than 100,000 barrels a day in April compared with March.

Oil prices have risen steadily in recent weeks after Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed last month to freeze their output at January levels in an effort to support prices. A broader meeting among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members is expected to take place this month or next.

On Monday, the United Arab Emirates's energy minister said that current prices are forcing all suppliers to freeze their production.

"It doesn't make any sense for anyone to increase the production with the current prices," Suhail bin Mohammedal-Mazrouei told reporters on the sidelines of an aerospace conference in Abu Dhabi. "This is all good news for balancing the market. We just need to be patient."

In addition, Ecuador's foreign minister said on his Twitter account that Latin American oil producers will meet in Quito, Ecuador, on Friday to discuss a common position on oil prices.

However, Iran, which is expected to increase its production this year, hasn't agreed to the freeze.

"The big risk is that the meeting proves a disappointment and prices fall back sharply on any lack of further progress," said Barclays analyst Kevin Norrish.

The recent price rally reduces the likelihood that countries will limit their output, said brokerage PVM in a note.

"The current oil-price strength will prove to be too big a temptation for both cash-strapped OPEC and non-OPEC producers to resist maximizing output and oil revenues," the brokerage said.

Growing crude inventories could send oil prices plunging again, particularly in the U.S., analysts said. Data provider Genscape Inc. told clients Monday that inventories in the key storage hub of Cushing, Okla., rose to a new high in the week ended March 4, according to a broker who viewed the data.

"The past days' oil price rally was from our perspective less related to a shift in fundamentals but a recovery of sentiment," said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodities research at Julius Baer, in a note. "We still believe that oil prices experience a short-term bounce but no long-term recovery" due to increased production from Iran and resilient U.S. output.

Gasoline futures settled up 6.06 cents, or 4.5%, to $1.3927 a gallon, the highest settlement since Nov. 25. Diesel futures rose 6.12 cents, or 5.3%, to $1.2225 a gallon, the highest level since Dec. 10

Georgi Kantchev and Benoit Faucon contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com

Credit: By Nicole Friedman

Subject: Petroleum industry; Petroleum production; Gasoline prices; Price increases

Location: United States--US

Company / organization: Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210; Name: Baker Hughes Inc; NAICS: 213112, 333132, 333249; Name: American Automobile Association; NAICS: 813990, 561599

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770824869

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770824869?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Gold Retreats From 13-Month Highs; Precious metal also weighed down by a strong dollar and higher oil prices

Author: Cui, Carolyn

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]07 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

In recent days gold prices have tended to move in narrow ranges as investors anticipate policy meetings of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve at which those bodies are expected to further widen their interest-rate gaps.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Gold prices edged down Monday after spending most of the day shuffling between gains and losses amid uncertainty ahead of the rate decisions by two of the world's biggest central banks.

Gold futures for March delivery lost 0.5%, or $6.7, to close at $1,263.20 a troy ounce at the Comex division of CME Group. With Monday's losses, gold snapped a three-session winning streak and retreated from a 13-month high hit in the previous session at $1,269.90 an ounce.

The precious metal was weighed down by a strong dollar and higher oil prices Monday as some money chased higher returns in riskier assets.

Despite Monday's modest losses some investors said the bullish case for gold remains intact, arguing the price will continue to rise amid currency instability, negative interest rates and sluggish economic growth.

"Central banks are coming in slowly and cautiously on negative interest rates. If growth continues to be an issue, we're probably just seeing the beginning of the negative interest rates," said Paul Wong, a portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management.

Gold finds it easier to compete with yield-bearing assets, like Treasurys, when interest rates are near zero. Bullion-backed exchange-traded funds have seen big inflows since the beginning of this year.

More broadly, some analysts believe the precious metal is being supported by improved investor sentiment for commodities as a whole.

"The fact prices are holding up when other commodities and markets are rallying suggests there may be some broad-based movement into commodity baskets," said William Adams, head of research at Fastmarkets.

Among the other precious metals, silver was down 0.4% at $15.633 an ounce, platinum was up 1.6% at $1,002 an ounce and palladium was up 2.6% at $577.60 an ounce.

Ese Erheriene contributed to the article.

Write to Carolyn Cui at carolyn.cui@wsj.com

Credit: By Carolyn Cui

Subject: Central banks; Interest rates; Gold markets; Prices

Location: United States--US New York

Company / organization: Name: European Central Bank; NAICS: 521110; Name: CME Group; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 7, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1770937194

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1770937194?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Pare Gains; Brent Remains Above $40; May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.59 to $40.25 a barrel

Author: Hsu, Jenny

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

BMI Research takes a more bearish view, saying the discussions of a production freeze "are largely a verbal intervention," and Saudi Arabia will raise its production when prices climb in the second quarter. [...]at above 500 million barrels, U.S. crude inventories remains at a level unseen since 1930, according to EIA's monthly data.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Crude oil prices edged down in early Asia trade Tuesday on profit-taking following an overnight surge, but Brent remains at above $40 a barrel on increasing expectations for shrinking global supply.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $37.39 a barrel at 0240 GMT, down $0.51 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.59 to $40.25 a barrel.

Brent, the international benchmark, broke the $40 level overnight and settled at the highest level since early December.

"Sentiment continues to improve as discussion about a production freeze lingers," said ANZ Research, noting that more traders are cutting their short positions.

Other encouraging signs fueling the positive sentiment include the steady, albeit slow, reduction in U.S. crude output and the number of active oil rigs in the U.S.

However, the bullish sentiment is offset by worries that the overhang will take a long time to wind down, even if a freeze is in place.

"A production freeze probably won't make much of a difference because the market is so oversupplied. We expect heavy selling pressure at this price level," said Daniel Ang, a Phillip Futures energy analyst.

Moreover, at above 500 million barrels, U.S. crude inventories remains at a level unseen since 1930, according to EIA's monthly data.

In a survey of analysts by Platts, U.S. crude stocks likely increased by 3 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks likely fell by 1.5 million barrels. The weekly data by the EIA will be released Wednesday.

Traders will be monitoring China's February trade data released later Tuesday for cues. In January, China's crude imports fell 4.6% to 26.7 million tons. Analysts, however, said given that many Chinese factories were closed for a week last month for the Lunar New Year, the data may be skewed.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for April, the benchmark gasoline contract, fell 51 points to $1.3876 a gallon, while April diesel traded at $1.2170, 55 points lower.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $362.00 a metric ton, up $7.00 from Monday's settlement.

Credit: By Jenny Hsu

Subject: Crude oil prices; Petroleum industry; Futures

Location: United States--US Asia Saudi Arabia

Company / organization: Name: ICE Futures; NAICS: 523210; Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771005216

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771005216?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Oil Prices Fall Back After Recent Gains; Analysts caution recent market rally is unsustainable

Author: Berthelsen, Christian; Malek, Miriam; Baxter, Kevin

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

The U.S. Energy Department also said production was proving more robust than expected and lowered forecasts for average prices this year and next, and analysts said they expected another sizable increase in domestic stockpiles in data to be released Wednesday.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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Oil prices sold off sharply Tuesday, giving back a big chunk of prior-day surge, as fresh signals of global oversupply and weak demand buffeted the market and analysts cautioned that the recent market rally appears unsustainable.

The benchmark U.S. crude contract settled down 3.7% at $36.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, undoing much of Monday's 5.5% jump. The global Brent contract fell 2.9% to $39.65. Both contracts are up more than 40% from the depths of multiyear lows in the $20-range hit in January and February.

Overall, investors appeared to be taking stock of the run-up in oil prices over the past month and heeding analysts who note the world's oversupply of oil is still high and that supply-and-demand fundamentals haven't yet begun to recover. The market was also buffeted with a series of headlines Tuesday reinforcing the notion that a recovery remains far off.

"I thought the $10 rally in oil prices was overextended at $5," said Gene McGillian, a senior energy analyst at brokerage Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn. "The fundamental picture throughout this rally has not been supportive of a turnaround."

The market opened lower as investors absorbed overnight data from China showing a steep drop in exports, which the market took as a sign of slowing economic activity--and weakening oil demand--in the country. China is the world's second-largest source of oil demand and a leading driver of demand growth, and any weakness there could potentially push the oil market recovery further off.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's oil minister signaled it would be unwilling to freeze production unless Iran agreed to as well and a new research report from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the rally appeared unsustainable. The U.S. Energy Department also said production was proving more robust than expected and lowered forecasts for average prices this year and next, and analysts said they expected another sizable increase in domestic stockpiles in data to be released Wednesday.

Oil prices have surged in recent weeks as investors feel increasingly confident that the market bottomed out in late February near $27 a barrel, with the large number of bearish traders closing out short bets--which can exacerbate rallies. Optimists believe weak prices will finally force U.S. producers to slash output, reducing supplies on the market. U.S. production has been edging down but remains above 9 million barrels a day.

But some analysts believe it is too early to sound the all-clear on this market. In a note on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs said that a price of $40 a barrel is unsustainable and a longer period of low prices is needed before the market begins to fully rebalance in the second half of 2016.

"Energy needs lower prices...to finish the rebalancing process; otherwise, an oil price rally will prove self-defeating as it did last spring," the bank said.

In refined product markets, gasoline futures were down 0.4% at $1.3878 a gallon and diesel futures were down 1.8% at $1.20 a gallon.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said in a report late Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies rose by 4.4 million barrels in the latest week, according to market participants. It also reported a 2.1-million-barrel decrease in gasoline stocks and a 128,000-barrel decline in distillate inventories, according to the market participants.

Write to Christian Berthelsen at christian.berthelsen@wsj.com and Kevin Baxter at Kevin.Baxter@wsj.com

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen, Miriam Malek and Kevin Baxter

Subject: Petroleum industry; Prices; Investments

Location: China United States--US

Company / organization: Name: New York Mercantile Exchange; NAICS: 523210; Name: Goldman Sachs Group Inc; NAICS: 523110, 523120

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771114691

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771114691?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Energy Agency Sees Lower Global Oil Prices; EIA expects supplies to grow more than previously anticipated

Author: Berthelsen, Christian

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Robust U.S. production is also leading to abundant inventories and lower prices for natural gas, a key source of fuel for power plants and home heating and air conditioning in the U.S. Natural gas prices recently touched their lowest level in 17 years, and inventories at the end of the winter heating season this month are on track to be the highest in four years.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

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The U.S. Energy Department lowered its price expectations for the global Brent crude contract this year and next, saying it expected supplies to grow more than previously anticipated because robust production has persisted despite the market collapse.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, an analytic division of the Energy Department, said it expected Brent oil prices to average $34 a barrel in 2016 and $40 a barrel in 2017, down from $37 and $50, respectively, from its outlook last month.

"Global inventories over the next two years are expected to grow more rapidly than previously expected because of higher world production and less oil demand due to weaker economic growth worldwide," EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said in a prepared statement.

"Higher growth in world oil inventories tends to delay the rebalancing of supply and demand in the global market, keeping prices low," Mr. Sieminksi said.

That buildup in inventories is expected to translate into lower prices at the pump, with the EIA lowering its estimate of U.S. gasoline prices to an average of $1.89 a gallon in 2016, down 8 cents from its outlook a month ago and the lowest annual average since 2004. Retail gasoline prices averaged $2.43 a gallon in 2015.

Cheap prices are prompting drivers to hit the road more, with gasoline demand increasing 2.7% in 2015 to 9.2 million barrels a day, the highest level since the record demand of 9.3 million barrels a day in 2007.

Robust U.S. production is also leading to abundant inventories and lower prices for natural gas, a key source of fuel for power plants and home heating and air conditioning in the U.S.

Natural gas prices recently touched their lowest level in 17 years, and inventories at the end of the winter heating season this month are on track to be the highest in four years.

Write to Christian Berthelsen at christian.berthelsen@wsj.com

Credit: By Christian Berthelsen

Subject: Petroleum industry; Supply & demand; Inventory; Gasoline prices; Natural gas prices

Location: United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771274460

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771274460?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Sabine Oil & Gas May Reject Pipeline Contracts; Federal bankruptcy judge says Sabine ruling isn't binding, encourages settlement

Author: Corrigan, Tom

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

A federal bankruptcy judge dealt a blow to pipeline operators and other midstream oil companies Tuesday, ruling that Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. can scrap pipeline deals it made before oil and gas prices plummeted .

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Judge Shelley Chapman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan agreed to let Sabine out of the pipeline deals in a closely watched decision that energy and restructuring experts warn could roil the so-called midstream sector .

"The court preliminarily finds that none of the covenants run with the land," Judge Chapman said, potentially knocking down the pipeline operators' argument that the agreements can't be broken because they are inextricably tied to the land on which Sabine operates.

However, the judge added that her ruling isn't binding. She said the dispute over whether the deals can be broken raises uncertain legal issues that will have to be addressed later.

Houston-based Sabine sought to exit a contract with an affiliate of Cheniere Energy Inc. because of the likelihood that it wouldn't meet the deal's requirement to deliver a certain amount of natural gas in southern Texas. Sabine also sought to reject another deal it made with a midstream company that halted construction of its pipeline in 2014.

Sabine, which sought chapter 11 protection last summer to restructure some $3 billion in debt, said it could save as much as $115 million by exiting the deals and wants to be free to negotiate more favorable contracts.

Write to Tom Corrigan at tom.corrigan@wsj.com

Credit: By Tom Corrigan

Subject: Bankruptcy; Bankruptcy reorganization; Pipelines; Petroleum industry; Natural gas

Company / organization: Name: Cheniere Energy Inc; NAICS: 211111; Name: Sabine Oil & Gas Corp; NAICS: 211111, 211112; Name: Bankruptcy Court-US; NAICS: 922110

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771282881

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771282881?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-22

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Mexico's Pemex to Use Credit Lines to Pay Suppliers; State oil company owed suppliers $8.20 billion at end of last year

Author: Harrup, Anthony

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract: None available.

Links: 360 Link to Full Text

Full text:

MEXICO CITY--Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, struggling with low oil prices, said Tuesday that it will soon use credit from government development banks to pay small and midsize suppliers to which it owes money.

Last year, Pemex extended to six months the time it takes to pay suppliers for goods and services, causing financial difficulties, especially for smaller businesses that rely on the oil giant. Before, payment would take two to three months, according to a number of suppliers.

At the end of last year, Pemex owed suppliers 147 billion pesos ($8.20 billion), and since February has paid more than 20 billion pesos, the company said.

Pemex said it would take out loans from three development banks to pay more than 1,300 suppliers, or 85% of the companies to which it owes money. Suppliers that submitted invoices for up to 85 million pesos and "whose situation is the most vulnerable" will be paid, Pemex said.

In a meeting early Tuesday with members of the congressional energy commission, Pemex Chief Executive José Antonio González Anaya said the payments should be made within days, or at the most a couple of weeks.

The executive met Monday with leaders of the country's main business organizations to discuss the problem of unpaid suppliers. Industrial confederation Concamin said the measures should give respite to many small and medium businesses whose financial situation is delicate as a result of the payment delays.

Mr. González Anaya was appointed chief executive of Pemex last month with the task of shoring up its finances as it struggles with low oil prices and record after-tax losses. In his first major decision, Mr. González Anaya outlined 100 billion pesos in budget cuts for this year , based on the expectations that crude oil will average $25 a barrel instead of the $50 that Pemex budgeted for.

The spending cuts and deferred investments are expected to lower Pemex's crude oil production this year by 100,000 barrels a day to around 2.13 million barrels a day as the company focuses on profitable output, although a rise in prices or success in forming partnerships with private companies could limit the lost output, Mr. González Anaya said last week.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

Credit: By Anthony Harrup

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Business

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771301586

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771301586?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-23

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Rare Glimpse Into Norwegian Fund Shows Shift From Large Stakes; Disclosures by Norway's $877 billion oil fund offer an unusually detailed view of its workings

Author: Hovland, Kjetil Malkenes; Clark, Simon

Publication info: Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: n/a.

ProQuest document link

Abstract:

Norway's government in January tapped into the fund for the first time since it was set up in 1996, as oil-production revenues dropped to a level insufficient to cover its expenses. Since inception, the government has pumped on average 187 billion kroner ($21.83 billion) a year of surplus oil revenues into the fund.

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OSLO--Norway's $877 billion sovereign-wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Wednesday that it held fewer large equity stakes at the end of 2015 than a year earlier, due to a gradual shift away from Europe and a transfer of equity assets into its real-estate portfolio.

Norges Bank Investment Management, or NBIM, which manages the fund, said it held stakes exceeding 5% in 29 companies at the end of 2015, down from 57 companies a year earlier. It held stakes exceeding 2% in 1,074 companies, down from 1,205 companies a year earlier.

The annual disclosure of the Norwegian fund's investments gives the public an unusually detailed view into how a sovereign-wealth fund manages money. Similar government-owned funds that manage billions of dollars on behalf of nations from Qatar to Kuwait and China provide very little information about their activities.

"The large ownership stakes we've had in some real-estate companies have been transferred to the real-estate portfolio," said NBIM chief executive Yngve Slyngstad. "Some of our big investments in Europe have also been reduced somewhat, so they've fallen from slightly above 5% to slightly below 5%."

The fund, one of the largest investors in the world, held 1.3% of all global listed equities at the end of 2015, unchanged on the year, and held 2.3% of all listed European equities, down from 2.4%.

The fund's European exposure dropped to 38.1% of its value at the end of 2015, from 39.3% a year earlier. Its exposure to North America increased to 40% from 38.9%. Its emerging markets holdings dropped to 9.8% of its value, from 10.6%, largely due to weaker markets and currency fluctuations.

"We may soon be in a situation where the fund is flattening, and maybe there will even be withdrawals, so we may separate a little less from other sovereign-wealth funds than we've done historically," said Norway's central bank governor Oystein Olsen.

However, Norway's fund is still in a more comfortable situation than some other wealth funds , which may have to sell off assets to fund government spending. Mr. Slyngstad expected to transfer about 80 billion kroner to government coffers this year, but would still have cash left to keep investing.

"Our cash flow is significantly higher than the withdrawals, so we're net buyers of assets, not net sellers," Mr. Slyngstad said.

The fund also revealed the 9,050 companies it owned shares in at the end of 2015, registering declines in its percentage stakes in Credit Suisse Group AG and BlackRock Inc. and increases in UBS AG and HSBC Holdings PLC. Financial companies accounted for the biggest share of equity investments, at 23.4%, and returned 2.3% for the fund last year.

The fund's stake in BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, declined from 7% at the end of 2014 to 5.66% a year later. Its stake in HSBC was 1.98% at the end of the year, compared with 1.81% at the start. The $3.07-billion holding in the London-based lender is the fund's second-biggest investment in a financial company, after the BlackRock stake.

The fund's stake in Zurich-based lender Credit Suisse declined from 5.69% to 4.98% in the same period. Declines were also recorded in its stakes in France's BNP Paribas SA and Italian lenders UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA.

Meanwhile it increased its stake in Swiss lender UBS from 2.94% to 3.08% during 2015. Percentage-increases were also recorded in the fund's stakes in Barclays PLC, Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Deutsche Bank AG, Nordea Bank AB, Standard Chartered PLC as well as U.S. lenders Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. The fund's stake in China Construction Bank Corp. also increased.

The fund declined to comment on its stakes in financial companies, saying that it doesn't discuss single investments.

In a bid to diversify its holdings, NBIM last year expanded its investment universe to 67 equity markets from 61 a year earlier, adding Bangladesh, Botswana, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sri Lanka.

The fund returned 334 billion kroner or 2.7% in 2015, down from 7.6% in the year-earlier period and the weakest performance since 2011, when full-year returns were negative. The fund blamed last year's weaker returns partly on slowing growth in emerging markets.

Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com and Simon Clark at simon.clark@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

Norway's sovereign-wealth fund increased its stake in Swiss lender UBS from 2.94% to 3.08% during 2015. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the size of the increase.

Credit: By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland and Simon Clark

Subject: Investment bankers; Banking industry; International finance; Equity

Location: Norway Europe

Company / organization: Name: Credit Suisse Group; NAICS: 522110; Name: UBS AG; NAICS: 522110, 523110, 523120, 523920, 523930

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Pages: n/a

Publication year: 2016

Publication date: Mar 8, 2016

Section: Markets

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y.

Publication subject: Business And Economics

Source type: Newspapers

Language of publication: English

Document type: News

ProQuest document ID: 1771548642

Document URL: https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1771548642?accountid=7117

Last updated: 2017-11-24

Database: The Wall Street Journal

Energy Sector Pushes Up Stocks --- The commodities-price rebound that stoked recent rally continues, with oil jumping 5.5%

Author: Kuriloff, Aaron; Gold, Riva

Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]08 Mar 2016: C.4.